Masonic, Occult and Esoteric Online Library
The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett - 1923
By A. T. Barker
Letter No XIV
Letter from K.H. Answering Queries. Received by A.O.H., July 9th, 1882.
(i) We understand that the man-bearing cycle of necessity ofour solar system consists of thirteen objective globes, of whichours is the lowest, six above it in the ascending, and six in thedescending cycle with a fourteenth world lower still than ours.Is this correct?
(1) The number is not quite correct. There are seven objective and seven subjective globes (I have been just permittedfor the first time to give you the right figure), the worldsofcauses and of effects. The former have our earth occupyingthe lower turning point where spirit matter equilibrates. Butdo not trouble yourself to go into calculations even on thiscorrect basis for it will only puzzle you, since the infiniteramifications of the number seven (which is one of our greatestmysteries) being so closely allied and interdependent with theseven principles of Nature and man—this figure is the only oneI am permitted (so far) to give you. What I can reveal 1 doso in a letter I am just finishing.
(2) We understand that below man you reckon not three kingdoms as we do (mineral, vegetable and animal) but seven. Pleaseenumerate and explain these.
(2) Below man there are three on the objective and three in the subjective region, with man a septenary. Two of the three former none but an initiate could conceive of; the third is the Inner kingdom—below the crust of the earth which we could name but would feel embarrassed to describe. These seven kingdoms are preceded by other and numerous septenary stages and combinations.
(3) We understand that the monad, starting in the highest world of the descending series, appears there in a mineral encase- ment, and there goes through a series of seven encasements repre- senting the seven classes into which the mineral kingdom is divided, and that this done it passes to the next planet and does likewise (I purposely say nothing of the worlds of results, where it takes on the development the result of what it has gone through in the last world and the necessary preparation for the next) and so on right through the thirteen spheres, making altogether 91 mineral existences, (a) Is this correct? (b) If so, what are the classes we are to reckon in the mineral kingdom? Also (c) How does the monad get out of one encasement into another ; in the case of inherbations and incarnations, the plant and animal dies, but so far as we know the mineral does not die, so how does the monad in the first round get out of one into another inmetalliation ? (d) And has every separate molecule of the mineral a monad or only those groups of molecules where definite structure is observable such as crystals?
(3) Yes; in our string of worlds it starts at globe '* A " of the descending series and passing through all the preliminary evolutions and combinations of the first three kingdoms it finds itself encased in its first mineral form (in what I call race when speaking of man and what we may call class in general)—of class 1 — there. Only it passes through seven instead of ** through the thirteen spheres " even omitting the intermediate ** worlds of results." Having passed through its seven great classes of inmetalliation (a good word this) with their septenary ramifications—the monad gives birth to the vegetable kingdom and moves on to the next planet ** B."
(a) As you now see, except as to the numbers, (b) Your geologists divide, I believe, stones into three great groups—of Sandstone, granite and chalk; or the sedimentary, organic, and igneous, following their physical characteristics just as the psychologists and spiritualists divide man into the trinity of body, soul, and spirit. Our method is totally different. We divide minerals (also the other kingdoms) according to their occult properties, i.e., according to the relative proportion of the seven universal principles which they contain. I am sorryto refuse you, but I cannot, am not permitted to answer yourquestion. To facilitate for you a question of simple nomenclature, however, I would advise you to study perfectly theseven principles in man, and thus to divide the seven greatclasses of the minerals correspondingly. For instance, thegroup of the sedimentary would answer to the compound(chemically speaking) body of man or his first principle; theorganic to the second (some call it third) principle or jiva, etc.,etc. You must exercise your own intuition in that. Thus youmight also intuite certain truths even as to their properties. 1am more than willing to help you but things have to be divulgedgradually, (c) By occult osmosis. The plant and animal leavethese carcases behind when life is extinct. So does themineral only at longer intervals, as its rocky body is morelasting. It dies at the end of every manwantaric cycle, or atthe close of one * ' Round ' ' as you would call it. It is explainedin the letter I am preparing for you. (d) Every moleculeispart of the universal life. Man's soul (his fourth and fifthprinciple) is but a compound of the progressed entities of thelower kingdom. The superabundance or preponderance of oneover another compound will often determine the instincts andpassions of a man, unless these are checked by the soothingand spiritualizing influence of his sixth principle.
(4) Please note, we call the Grand Cycle that the monad hasperformed in the mineral kingdom a " round " which we understand to contain thirteen (seven) stations, or objective, moreorless material worlds. At each of these stations it performs whatwe call a ** world ring," which includes seven inmetalliations, onein each of the seven classes of that kingdom. Is this acceptedfor nomenclature and correct?
(4) I believe it will lead to a further confusion. A Roundweare agreed to call the passage of a monad from globe '* A"to globe ** Z " (or ** G *') through the encasement in all andeach of the four kingdoms, viz., as a mineral, a vegetable, ananimal and man or the Deva kingdom. The ** world ring "iscorrect. M. advised Mr. Sinnett strongely to agree uponanomenclature before going any further. A few stray facts weregiven to you par contrihande and on the smuggling principlehitherto. But now since you seem really and seriously deter-mined to study and utilize our philosophy—it is time we shouldbegin to work seriously. Because w^e are constrained to denyto our friends an insight into the higher Mathematics it is noreason why we should refuse to teach them arithmetic. The monad performs not only ** world rings *' or seven major in- metalliations, inherbations, zoonizations (?) and incarnations—but an infinitude of sub-rings or subordinate whirls all in series of sevens. As tbe geologist divides the crust of the earth into great divisions, sub-divisions, minor compartments and zones; and the botanist his plants into orders, classes and species, and the zoologist his subjects into classes, orders and families, so we have our arbitrary classifications and our nomenclature. But besides all this being incomprehensible to you, volumes upon volumes out of the Books of Kin-te and others would have to be written. Their commentaries are worse still. They are filled with the most abstruse mathematical calculations the key to most of which are in the hands of our highest adepts only, since showing as they do the infinitude of the phenomenal manifestations in the side projections of the one Force they are again secret. Therefore I doubt whether I will be allowed to give you for the present anything beyond the mere unitary or root idea. Anyhow I will do my best.
(5) We understand that in each of your other six kingdoms, a monad similarly performs a complete round, in each round stopping in each of the thirteen stations, and there performing- in each a world ring of seven lives, one in each of the seven classes into hich each of the 6 said kingdoms are divided. Is this correct, d, if so, will you give us the seven classes of these six ingdoms ?
(5) If by kingdoms the seven kingdoms or regions of the earth are meant—and I do not see how it can mean anything else—then the query is answered in my reply to your Question
(2) and if so then the five out of the seven are already enumerated. The first two are related as well as the third, to the evolution of the elementals and of the Inner kingdom.
(6) If we are right then the total existences prior to the manperiod is 637. Is this correct? Or are there seven existences in each class of each kingdom, 4,459? Or what are the total numbers and how divided? One point more. In these lower kingdoms is the number of lives, so to speak, invariable, or does it vary, and, if so, how, why, and within what limits?
(6) Not being permitted to give you the whole truth, or divulge the number of isolated fractions, I am unable to satisfy you by giving you the total number. Rest assured my dear Brother, that to one who does not seek to become a practical occultist these numbers are immaterial. Even our high chelas are re- fused these particulars to the moment of their initiation into adeptship. These figures as I have already said are so inter-woven with the profoundest psychological mysteries that todivulge the key to such figures, would be to put the rodofpower within the reach of all the clever men who would readyour book. All that I can tell you is that within the Solarmanwantara the number of existences or vital activities of themonad is fixed, but there are local variations in numberinminor systems, individual worlds, rounds, and world rings,according to circumstances. And in this connexion rememberalso that human personalities are often blotted out, while theentities whether single or compound complete all the minor andmajor cycles of necessity under whatsoever form.
(7) So far we hope we are tolerably correct, but when we cometo Man we have gfot muddled. (7) And no wonder, since you were not given the correctinformation.
(7a) Does the monad of Man (ape-man and upwards) makeoneor seven rounds as above defined ? We gathered the latter.
(7a) As a man-ape he performs just as many rounds andrings as every other race or class; i.e., he performs one Roundand in every planet from '* A ** to ** Z *' has to go throughseven chief races of ape-like man, as many sub-races, etc., etc.(See Supplemental Note). As the above described race.
(7b) At each round does his world-circle consist of seven lives inseven races (49) or of only seven lives in one race? We are notcertain how you use the word race, whether there is only onerace to each station of each round, i.e., one race to each worldcircle or whether there are seven races (with their seven branchlets and a life in each in either case) in each world-circle? Nay,from your use of the words '* and through each of these Manhasto evolute before he passes on to the next higher race and thatseven times/* we are not sure that there are not seven lives ineach branchlet as you call it, suh-race we will, if you like, say.So now there may be seven rounds each with seven races, eachwith seven sub-races, each with seven incarnations= 13 x 7 x 7x7x7 = 31, 313 lives, or one round with seven races and seven subraces and a life in each= 13 x 7 x 7 = 637 lives or again 4,459lives. Please set us right here stating the normal numberoflives (the exact numbers will vary owing to idiots, children, etc.,not counting) and how divided.
(7b) As the above described race: i.e., at each planet—ourearth included—^he has to perform seven rings through seven races (one in each) and seven multiplied by seven offshoots. There are seven root-races, and seven sub-races or offshoots. Our doctrine treats anthropology as an absurd empty dream of the religionists and confines itself to ethnology. It is possible that my nomenclature is faulty : you are at liberty in such a case to change it. What I call '* race ** you would perhaps term ** stock '* though sub-race expresses better what we mean than the word family or division of the genus homo. However, to set you right so far I will say—one life in each of the seven root- races; seven lives in each of the 49 sub-races—or 7 x 7 x 7 = 343 and add 7 more. And then a series of lives in offshoot and branchlet races; making the total incarnations of man in each station or planet 777. TTie principle of acceleration and re- tardation applies itself in such a way, as to eliminate all the inferior stocks and leave but a single superior one to make the last ring. Not much to divide over some millions of years that man passes on one planet. Let us take but one million of years—suspected and now accepted by your science—to represent man's entire term upon our earth in this Round; and al- lowing an average of a century for each life, we find that whereas he has passed in all his lives upon our planet (on this Round) but 77,700 years he has been in the subjective spheres 922,300 years. Not much encouragement for the extreme modern re-incarnationists who remember their several previous existences !
Should you indulge in any calculations do not forget that we have computed above only full average lives of consciousness and responsibility. Nothing has been said as to the failures of nature in abortions, congenital idiots, death of children in their first septenary cycles, nor of the exceptions of which I cannot speak. No less have you to remember that average human life varies greatly according to the Rounds. TTiough I am obliged to withhold information about many points yet if you should work out any of the problems by yourself it will be my duty to tell you so. Try to solve the problem of the 777 incarnations.
(8) ** M '* said all mankind is in the fourth round, the fifth has not yet commenced but soon will. Was this a slip? If not, then collatings this with your present remarks we gather that all mankind is on the fourth round (though in another place he seemed to say we are on the fifth round). That the highest people now on earth belong to the first sub-race of the fifth race, the majority to the seventh sub-race of the fourth race but with remnants of the other sub-races of the fourth race and the seventh sub-race of the third race. Pray set us quite right on this.
(8) ** M '* knows very little English and hates writing. Buteven I might have used very well the same expression. Afewdrops of rain do not make a monsoon though they presageit.The fifth round has not commenced on our earth and the racesand sub-races of one round must not be confounded with thoseof another round. The fifth round mankind may be said tohave ** commenced " when there shall not be left on the planetwhich precedes ours a single man of that round and on ourearth not one of the fourth round. You should know also thatthe casual fifth round men (and very few and scarce they are)who come in upon us as avant couriers do not beget on earthfifth round progeny. Plato and Confucius were fifth round menand our Lord a sixth round man (the mystery of his avatarisspoken of in my forthcoming letter) not even Gautama Buddha'sson was anything but a fourth round man.
Our mystic terms in their clumsy re-translation from theSanskrit into English are as confusing to us as they are to you—especially to ** M '* unless in writing to you one of us takeshis pen as an adept and uses it from the first words to the last,in this capacity he is quite as liable to ** slips " as any otherman. No, we are not in the fifth round, but fifth round menhave been coming in for the last few thousand years. But whatis such a petty stretch of time in comparison with even onemillion of the several millions of years embraced in man'soccupancy of earth in a single round.
K.H.
Please examine carefully the few additional things I give youon the fly-leaves. Damodar has received orders to send youNo. 3 of Terry's letters—a good material for pamphlet No.3of Fragments of Occult Truth.
The figure roughly represents the development of humanityon a planet—say our earth. Man evolves from seven majororroot-races; 49 minor races; and the subordinate races or off-shoots, the branchlet races coming from the latter are not shown.The arrow indicates the direction taken by the evolutionaryimpulse.
I, II, III, IV, etc., are the seven major or root-races. I, 2, 3, etc., are the minor races. a, a, a, are the subordinate or offshoot races. N, the initial and terminal point of evolution on the planet.S, the axial point where the development equilibrates oradjusts itself in each race evolution. E, the equatorial points where in the descending arc intellectovercomes spirituality and in the ascending arc spiritualityoutstrips intellect.
(N.B.—The above in D.K.*s hand—the rest in K.H.'s.—A.P.S.)P.S.—In his hurry D.J.K. has made his figure incline some-what out of the perpendicular but it will serve as a roughmemorandum. He drew it to represent development onasingle planet but I have added a word or two to make it applyas well (w^hich it does) to a whole manwantaric chain of worlds.
K.H.
Supplementary Notes.
Whenever any question of evolution or development in anyKingdom presents itself to you bear constantly in mind thateverything comes under the Septenary rule of series in theircorrespondence and mutual relation throughout nature.
In the evolution of man there is a topmost point, a bottompoint, a descending arc, and an ascending arc. As it is** Spirit " which transforms itself into " matter " and (not*' matter *' which ascends—but) matter which resolves oncemore into spirit, of course the first race evolution and the laston a planet (as in each round) must be more etherial, morespiritual, the fourth or lowermost one most physical (progressively of course in each round) and at the same time—asphysical intelligence is the last manifestation of spiritual intel-ligence—each evoluted race in the downward arc must be morephysically intelligent than its predecessor, and each in theupward arc have a more refined form of mentality commingledwith spiritual intuitiveness.
This (as race or stock) of the first round after a solarmanwantara (kindly wait for my forthcoming letter before youallow yourself to be repuzzled or remuddled. It will explaina good deal) would then be a God-man race if an almost im- palpable shape, and so it is; but then comes the difficulty to the student to reconcile this fact with the evolution of man from the animal—however high his form among the anthropoids. And yet it is reconcilable, for whomsoever will hold religiously to a strict analogy between the works of the two worlds, the visible and the invisible—one world, in fact, as one is working within itself so to say. Now there are—there must be ** failures '* in the etherial races of the many classes of Dyan Chohans or Devas as well as among men? But still as these failures are too far progressed and spiritualized to be thrown back forcibly from their Dyan Chohanship into the vortex of a new primordial evolution through the lower kingdoms—this then happens. When a new solar system is to be evolved these Dyan Chohans are (remember the Hindu allegory of the fallen Devas hurled by Siva into Hudarah who are allowed by Para Brahm to consider it as an intermediate state where they may prepare themselves by a series of rebirths in that sphere for a higher state—a new regeneration). Borne in by the influx " ahead ** of the elementals and remains as a latent or inactive spiritual force in the aura of the nascent world of a new system until the stage of human evolution is reached. Then Karma has reached them and they will have to accept to the last drop in the bitter cup of retribution. Then they become an active Force, and commingle with the Elementals, or progressed entities of the pure animal kingdom to develope little by little the full type of humanity. In this commingling they lose their high intelligence and spirituality of Devaship to regain them in the end of the seventh ring in the seventh round.
TTius we have :
]st Round.—An etherial being—non-intelligent, but superspiritual. In each of the subsequent races and sub-races and minor races of evolution he grows more and more into an encased or incarnate being, but still preponderatingly etherial. And like the animal and vegetable he develops monstrous bodies correspondential with his coarse surroimdings.
2nd Round.—He is still gigantic and etherial, but growing firmer and more condensed in body—a more physical man, but yet still less intelligent than spiritual; for mind is a slower and more difficult evolution than the physical frame and the mind would not develop as rapidly as the body.
3rd Round.—He has now a perfectly concrete or compacted body; at first the form of a giant ape, and more intelligent (or rather cunning) than spiritual. For in the downward arc he has now reached the point where his primordial spirituality is ecliDsed or over-shadowed by nascent mentality. In the last half of this third round his gigantic stature decreases, his body improves in texture (perhaps the microscope might helptodemonstrate this) and he becomes a more rational being—though still more an ape than a Deva man.
4th round.—Intellect has an enormous development in thisround. The dumb races will acquire our human speech, onour globe, on which from the 4th race language is perfectedand knowledge of physical things increases. At this half-waypoint of the fourth round, Humanity passes the axial pointofa minor manwantaric circle. (More-over, at the middle pointof every major or root race evolution of each round, man passesthe equator of his course on that planet, the same rule applyingto the whole evolution or the seven rounds of the minorManwantara—7 rounds ^2 = 3)4 rounds). At this point then theworld teems with the results of intellectual activity and spiritualdecrease. In the first half of the fourth race, sciences, arts,literature and philosophy were bom, eclipsed in one nation,reborn in another. Civilization and intellectual developmentwhirling in septenary cycles as the rest; while it is but in thelatter half that the spiritual Ego will begin its real struggle withbody and mind to manifest its transcendental powers. Whowill help in the forthcoming gigantic struggle? Who? Happythe man who helps a helping hand.
5th Round.—The same relative development, and the samestruggle continues.
6th Round.
7th Round. Of these we need not speak.
