The Solar System

by

Lieut.-Colonel Arthur E. Powell

2

DEDICATION

This book, like its four predecessors,

is dedicated with gratitude and

appreciation to those whose labours

and researches have provided

the materials out of which

it has been wrought.

3

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

INTRODUCTION 9

I. GLOBES 11

II. ROUNDS 14

III. CHAINS 16

IV. SCHEMES OF EVOLUTION 19

V. THE SOLAR SVSTEM 22

VI. THE BUILDING OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM 25

VII. THE SOLAR LOGOS AND THE PLANETARY LOGOI 32

VIII. THE LIFE-STREAMS 38

IX. THE GOALS OF OUR SEVEN CHAINS 45

X. DEGREES OF ATTAINMENT 49

XI. RACES AND SUB-RACES 52

XII. THE INNER ROUND 56

XIII. ”JUDGEMENT DAYS” 61

IV. INVOLUTION AND EVOLUTION 71

XV. TIMES AND DATES 75

XVI. THE PLANETARY CHAIN LOGOI AND OTHER HIGH

OFFICIALS 79

XVII. MANUS 84

XVIII. BUDDHAS, MAHACHOHANS AND BODHISATTVAS 89

XIX. THE LORD OF THE WORLD AND HIS ASSISTANTS 92

XX. THE EARTH SCHEME OF EVOLUTION: THE FIRST CHAIN 97

XXI. THE SECOND CHAIN 101

XXII. THE THIRD (MOON) CHAIN: THE FIRST FIVE ROUNDS 104

XXIII. THE MOON CHAIN: SIXTH ROUND 110

XXIV. THE MOON CHAIN: SEVENTH ROUND 114

XXV. PRODUCTS OF THE MOON CHAIN 118

XXVI. THE BUILDING OF THE EARTH CHAIN 128

XXVII. THE EARTH CHAIN: THE FIRST ROUND 132

XXVIII. THE EARTH CHAIN: THE SECOND ROUND 138

XXIX. THE EARTH CHAIN: THE THIRD ROUND 140

XXX. THE FOURTH ROUND: GLOBES A, B AND C 145

XXXI. THE EARTH: THE FIRST ROOT-RACE 148

XXXII. THE EARTH: THE SECOND ROOT-RACE 151

XXXIII. THE EARTH: THE THIRD ROOT-RACE: LEMURIAN 154

XXXIV. THE COMING OF THE LORDS OF VENUS 167

XXXV. THE FOURTH (ATLANTEAN) ROOT-RACE: THE RMOAHAL 169

XXXVI. THE SECOND ATLANTEAN SUB-RACE: THE TLAVATLI 174

XXXVII. THE THIRD ATLANTEAN SUB RACE: THE TOLTEC 176

XXXVIII. THE CIVILASATION OF ATLANTIS 183

XXXIX. ANCIENT PERU: A TOLTEC REMNANT 193

XL. THE FOURTH ATLANTEAN SUB-RACE: THE TURANIAN 201

XLI. A TURANIAN RELIC: CHALDÆA, B.C. 19,000 202

XLII. THE FIFTH ATLANTEAN SUB-RACE: THE ORIGINAL SEMITES209

XLIII. THE SIXTH ATLANTEAN SUB-RACE: THE AKKADIAN 210

XLIV. THE SEVENTH ATLANTEAN SUB-RACE: THE MONGOLIAN 211

XLV. BEGINNINGS OF THE FIFTH (ÂRYAN) ROOT-RACE 212

4

PAGE

XLVI. THE CITY OF THE BRIDGE 216

XLVII. THE FIRST ÂRYAN SUB-RACE: THE HINDU:

B.C. 60,000 218

XLVIII. THE SECOND ÂRYAN SUB-RACE: THE ARABIAN:

B.C. 40,000 222

XLIX. THE THIRD ÂRYAN SUB-RACE: THE IRANIAN:

B.C. 30,000 227

L. THE FOURTH ÂRYAN SUB-RACE: THE KELTIC:

B.C. 20,000 232

LI. THE FIFTH ÂRYAN SUBRACE: THE TEUTONIC:

B.C. 20,000 238

LII. THE FIFTH ROOT-RACE STOCK AND ITS DESCENT

INTO INDIA: B.C. 18,800 241

LIII. THE ÂRYAN SIXTH SUB-RACE 245

LIV. THE SIXTH AND SEVENTH ROOT-RACES 248

LV. LIFE ON MARS AND MERCURY 260

LVI. CONCLUSION 263

5

LIST OF DIAGRAMS

PAGE

I. GLOBES AND THEIR COUNTERPARTS (A) 11

II. GLOBES AND THEIR COUNTERPARTS (B) 12

III. THE 7 GLOBES OF THE EARTH CHAIN 12

IV. THE 7 ROUNDS OF THE EARTH CHAIN 14

V. THE 7 CHAINS OF THE EARTH SCHEME 16

VI. THE 7 CHAINS OF THE EARTH SCHEME AND THEIR

PRELÂYAS 17

VII. THE EARTH SCHEME OF EVOLUTION 19

VIII. THE PLAN OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM 22

IX. THE SOLAR SYSTEM AS IT AT PRESENT EXISTS 23

X. THE 1O EXISTING CHAINS 23

XI. TATTVAS AND TANMÂTRAS 28

XII. RELATION OF PHYSICAL PLANETS TO THE SUN 35

XIII. FOURTH DIMENSIONAL CONNECTION BETWEEN SUN

AND PLANETS 36

XIV. THE 13 LIFE-STREAMS AND THEIR PROGRESS 41

XV. THE LIFE-STREAMS OF SUCCESSIVE SCHEMES 41

XVI. THE GOALS OF OUR 7 CHAINS 47

XVII. DEGREES OF ATTAINMENT 49

XVIII. THE PROGRESS OF THE KINGDOMS 50

XIX. THE ROOT-RACES OF THE EARTH CHAIN 53

XX. THE RACES OF THE 7 EARTH-PERIODS 54

XXI. THE ROOT-RACES AND SUB-RACES OF

OUR SCHEME OF EVOLUTION 54

XXII. THE PASSAGE OF THE LIFE-WAVE 56

XXIII. THE NUCLEI ON THE PLANETS 57

XXIV. THE INNER ROUND: RETROGRESSION 58

XXV. THE INNER ROUND: SPEEDING UP 59

XXVI. THE PRODUCTS OF THE EARTH CHAIN 65

XXVII. A ROOT-RACE JUDGEMENT DAY (FOURTH ORDER) 68

XXVIII. A GLOBE-PERIOD JUDGEMENT DAY (THIRD ORDER) 69

XXIX. JUDGEMENT DAYS IN ONE ROUND (FOURTH, THIRD AND

SECOND ORDERS) 69

XXX. THE JUDGEMENT DAYS OF THE EARTH CHAIN 69

XXXI. THE DOWNWARD AND UPWARD ARCS 72

XXXII. THE INFLUENCES ACTING ON ONE PLANE (THE ASTRAL) 81

XXXIII. THE INFLUENCES ACTING ON THE 7 PLANES OF MATTER 82

XXXIV. THE ”SERVERS” AND OTHER GROUPS IN THE MOON CHAIN 105

XXXV. EMERGENCE OF CERTAIN GROUPS OF THE MOON CHAIN 118

XXXVI. PRODUCTS OF THE MOON CHAIN 122

XXXVII. THE WORK OF THE BARHISHADS IN THE EARTH CHAIN 129

XXXVIII. THE EARTH CHAIN: FIRST ROUND 134

XXXIX. THE EARTH CHAIN: ROUNDS 1, 2 AND 3 140

XL. THE THIRD ROOT-RACE (LEMURIAN) 156

XLI. EVOLUTION OF ROOT-RACES FROM SUB-RACES 171

6

PAGE

XLII. THE CITY OF THE GOLDEN GATES 186

XLIII. A CHALDÆAN TEMPLE 205

XLIV. ARRANGEMENT OF MIRRORS IN A CHALDÆAN TEMPLE 205

XLV. THE FIFTH ROOT-RACE AND THE FIRST MIGRATION

(SECOND SUB-RACE) 213

XLVI. THE THIRD AND FOURTH SUB-RACES 227

XLVII. THE FIFTH AND FIRST SUB-RACES 238

7

AUTHORS QUOTED

ABBREVI-

BOOK AUTHOR EDITION ATION

Astral Plane . . . C. W. Leadbeater . 1910 A P

Changing World . . A. Besant . . 1909 C W

Devachanic Plane . . C. W. Leadbeater . 1902 D P

Hidden Side of Things, C. W. Leadbeater . 1913 H S I

Vol. 1.

Initiation the Perfecting A. Besant . . 1912 I P M

of Man.

Inner Life. Vol. 1. . . C. W. Leadbeater . 1910 I L I

Inner Life, Vol. 11. . . C. W. Leadbeater . 1911 I L II

Man : Whence. How and . Besant and Lead- . 1913 M W

Whither ? . beater. H W

Masters and the Path . . C. W. Leadbeater . 1927 M P

Pedigree of Man . . A. Besant . . 1904 P M

Pyramids and Stonehenge . A. P. Sinnett . 1912 P S

Story of Atlantis and . W. Scott-Elliot . 1925 S A L

Lemuria.

Seven Principles of Man . A. Besant . . 1904 S P

Talks on the Path of . A. Besant and . 1926 T P O

occultism. C. W. Leadbeater.

Textbook of Theosophy . C. W. Leadbeater . 1914 T B

Theosophy . . . A. Besant . . - T

8

PUBLISHER'S PREFACE

THE author's purpose in compiling the books in this series was to

save students much time and labour by providing a condensed

synthesis of the considerable literature on the respective

subjects of each volume, coming mostly from the pens of Annie

Besant and C. W. Leadbeater. The accompanying list shows the

large number of books from which he drew. So far as possible, the

method adopted was to explain the form side first, before the

life side: to describe the objective mechanism of phenomena and

then the activities of consciousness that are expressed through

the mechanism. There is no attempt to prove or even justify

any of the statements.

The works of H. P. Blavatsky were not used because the

author said that the necessary research in The Secret Doctrine

and other writings would have been too vast a task for him to

undertake. He added: ”The debt to H. P. Blavatsky is greater than

could ever be indicated by quotations from her monumental

volumes. Had she not shown the way in the first instance, later

investigators might never had found the trail at all.”

9

INTRODUCTION

BOTH before and since the publication in 1888 of The Secret

Doctrine, by H. P. Blavatsky , there has become available for

students of occultism a good deal of information regarding the

Solar System and the streams of life-amongst which is our own

humanity-which evolve in that System. In 1883 appeared Esoteric

Buddhism by A. P. Sinnett, followed in 1896 by The Growth of the

Soul by the same author. In 1897 was published The Ancient Wisdom

by Annie Besant, and in 1903 this great student of the occult

delivered an important series of lectures, afterwards published

in book form, under the title The Pedigree of Man, dealing

in greater detail than anything previously published with the

Solar System, with its Chains, Rounds, Globes, Races, Sub-races,

etc. Further elaboration and details have been added by C. W

Leadbeater in various, books, notably The Inner Life, Volumes I

and II, and A Textbook of Theosophy.

In 1913 appeared, Man: Whence, How and Whither?

In addition to these, two fascinating volumes, entitled The Story

of Atlantis and Lost Lemuria, with maps of those continents, from

the pen of W. Scott-Elliot, appeared in 1896 and 1904

respectively, describing in very full detail the races that

inhabited those lands, and their civilisations.

Up to the present, however, no one book has appeared

covering the whole of this vast ground, describing both the

”field” of evolution and the streams of life which evolve in it

as the ages roll by.

The present volume is therefore an attempt to fill this

need. The whole of the information it contains is to be found in

the volumes already mentioned, or in certain others, the complete

list being given on page 7.

In view of the complexity of the subject, and its many

details, a large number of diagrams, most of which are original,

have been included in the text, and it is hoped that these will

facilitate the work of the student in mastering the many

intricacies of the system to which we belong and the method under

which our evolution proceeds. Some tabular statements and

summaries have been added, with the same purpose in view.

In order to keep the book within reasonable dimensions, many

details, such, for example, as those concerned with the

civilisations of the various races in Atlantean and Lemurian

times, have been omitted. These details, however , are readily

accessible to the student, the places where they are to be found

having invariably been given in the text, which contains only

a summary of their leading features.

Such omissions do not in any way interfere with or break the

continuity of the story as told in this book. Their inclusion

would, in fact, probably have made the picture too complicated

and elaborate to be grasped in one treatise, so that the student

would have been in danger of losing sight of the ”forest” because

of the number of the ”trees.”

The aim of the present volume is to give a co-ordinated and

coherent view of the, ”forest” rather then to describe in detail

10

each particular ”tree.” The student may then, as his leisure

permits, and his tastes impel, study for himself the histories of

the separate trees, bushes, thickets, and so on, which,

collectively, make up the gigantic forest of lives which populate

the amazing world, or rather series of worlds, in which

we have our being and evolve.

The work is planned in three main sections. First, the

field, in which evolution takes place, is described. This

involves a study of the various globes, their successive periods

of activity and obscuration, the chains, and schemes of

evolution. It is the formside of our subject, a description of

the places where life evolves. The second section deals with the

various streams of life which are poured into the prepared field,

and the method by which those streams steadily evolve and pass

through the various stages or levels of attainment or growth.

These processes are here dealt with in, broad outline only,

giving the student a bird's-eye view of the whole stately march

of events.

The third section describes in much more detail the progress

of the component parts of certain of the kingdoms of life, more

especially the human races and subraces. In this section,

however, as already stated, full elaboration of detail is

avoided, the object being, not so much to give the student an

encyclopedic mass of information, as to enable him to perceive

and understand the principles determining the mighty plan in

obedience to which everything is ordered in this superbly ordered

universe, in which ”not a sparrow falls on the ground” save by

the will of the Father of the System to which we have the honour

to belong.

11

THE SOLAR SYSTEM

CHAPTER I

GLOBES

WE shall commence our study of the ”field” in which evolution

takes place, with the small unit, and proceed to build up the

larger units out of the smaller, i.e., we shall pass from the

particular to the general. This, it is considered, will be easier

for the student than the reverse method of commencing with the

large unit, and then dividing it up into its component and

smaller units. Later , however, when we come to investigate

the life which evolves in the ”field” we shall find it easier to

adopt the reverse method, and, commencing with the large streams

of life, proceed to divide them up into their component and

smaller units. Thus we adapt our methods to the nature of our

subject.

The earth and the other planets are known as globes. Our own

earth is one of a series of 7 globes: that series is known as a chain,

and the earth is the densest of the 7 globes of its chain.

The 7 globes of the earth chain consist of:

2 lower mental globes.

2 astral globes.

3 physical globes.

The globes of every chain are not necessarily so

constituted: but with that we shall deal in full detail

presently.

When we speak, for example, of a lower mental globe, we mean

one in which the densest type of matter it contains is lower

mental: i.e., it has no astral or physical matter. Similarly, an

astral globe has no matter denser than the astral, i.e., it has

no encasement of physical matter.

Each globe, however, possesses ”counterparts,” as they are

called, of the various grades of matter finer than itself: thus,

a physical globe possesses its counterparts of astral, lower

mental, higher mental, buddhic, and âtmic matter: an astral globe

possesses a lower mental and all the higher matter counterparts.

These facts may be symbolised thus (Diagram 1).

Any one globe, however, must not be imagined as occupying a

position in space separate and distinct from its counterparts,

12

because this is not the case. The counterparts of a globe occupy

identically the same position in space as the globe itself, with

this reservation, that the spheres of higher or finer matter are

larger than those of lower matter, for they interpenetrate and

and extend beyond the periphery of the lower matter spheres, just

as a man's astral body interpenetrates and extends beyond the

confines of his physical body, his mental body beyond that again,

and so on. A truer representation of the globes would therefore

be as shown in Diagram II.

It is well known to students of science that particles of

matter never actually touch one another, even in the densest

substances. Moreover , the spaces between the particles are

always far greater than the size of the particles themselves.

Hence there is ample room, in any given portion of space, for

every grade of atom, not only to lie between the atoms of denser

matter, but also to move about quite freely among them and

around them.

Consequently a physical

globe, such as the earth, is

not one world, but 7

interpenetrating worlds, all

occupying the same pace, except

that, as said, the finer types

of matter extend further from

the centre than do the denser

types.

The 7 globes of a chain

are, by recognised convention,

known

respectively as Globes A, B, C,

D, E, F and G. In the earth

chain, Globes A and G are lower

mental, B and F are astral, C,

D,

and E are physical; C is the

planet Mars, D is the Earth,

and E

is the planet Mercury. A, B, F and G have at present no names

other than the letters which designate them.

Diagram III represents the 7 globes of the earth chain.

The Hindu Purânas speaks of the globes of our chain as Dvîpas,

the earth being called Jambudvîpa.

Each of the 7 globes, being a separate and distinct

planet, may be regarded as having a definite location in space,

13

revolving round, or in some way dependent upon, our sun.

The student will kindly observe and note the various kinds

of shadings used to designate the different orders of matter, as

these shadings will be used throughout this book, wherever

convenient, for the purpose named.

The physical being the densest, is represented by crossed

lines. The astral, as being between the physical and the mental,

is shown by lines inclined at 45° to the horizontal; the lower

mental is represented by vertical lines, the higher mental by

similar lines though further apart.

Buddhic matter is indicated by horizontal dotted lines, and

âtmic matter by vertical dotted lines.

It is not easy for us to attach any meaning to the

idea of a planet upon planes so exalted as the nirvânic (âtmic) or

buddhic, and we are perhaps scarcely justified in using the

term. All that is meant is that there is a certain location in

space where the evolution of certain groups of entities is

taking place through agencies which work on those exalted

levels.

14

CHAPTER II

ROUNDS

ALTHOUGH the 7 globes of a chain all exist simultaneously, yet

they are not all, at any given time, equally active in

supporting life. Broadly speaking, at any given time, 1 globe

only is active and fully functioning, the other 6 being in a

dormant condition.

The globes come into full activity, i.e., they become fully

inhabited by various classes of beings-with whom we shall deal in

later chapters-in succession. First, globe A becomes active:

after a vast period of time the life on it begins gradually to

lessen and almost to disappear, passing to the next globe-B.

Globe A then becomes dormant, whilst B begins to awaken.

After another vast period of time, globe B in turn

”goes to sleep,” the greater part of the life passing on to

the next globe in order, globe C.

This process continues until each globe in turn has

awakened from its sleeping condition, has supported the main

stream of life for an eon, and again become dormant. The period

during which a globe is fully active, supporting the main stream

of life, is called a globe-period.

The passage of the cycle of life round all 7 globes is known

as a round. A round thus consists of 7 globeperiods, or

15

worldperiods, as they are sometimes called.

When one round has been completed, the whole process begins

again with the re-awakening of life on Globe A, its subsequent

passage to Globe B, then to Globes C, D, E, F and G successively

until a second round has been completed. The whole process is

then repeated until 7 rounds have been completed.

Diagram IV illustrates the 7 rounds of the earth chain, the

spiral line indicating the stream of life which passes 7 complete

times round the whole chain of 7 globes.

We thus see that:

7 globe-periods make 1 round,

and 49 globe-periods make 7 rounds or 1 chain-period.

We spoke above of each globe in succession passing, as the

stream of life leaves it, into a dormant condition. When this

happens, the life on the globe does not entirely cease: a small

amount of life, a kind of nucleus, always remains, and serves

several important purposes. We shall deal with this phenomenon

later in its proper place. It is merely mentioned here in order

to prevent the student from forming an inaccurate conception of

what really takes place.

16

CHAPTER III

CHAINS

As we have just seen, a chain consists of 7 globes, each of which

has 7 periods of activity, so that 49 globe-periods make up 1

chain-period.

When the chain-period is completed, the globes which form it

disintegrate, and the matter which composed them is re-formed to

make 7 new globes. These 7 new globes then pass through 7 rounds

of activity, precisely as before, and are then broken up, only to

be re-formed once more into another set of 7 globes.

The process takes place 7 times, 7 chains, each consisting

of 7 globes, being thus formed in succession, and each lasting

for its 7 rounds of activity.

The individual globes, which are formed from the

disintegrated matter of the preceding chain, although formed of

the same ultimate material particles, are not composed of the

same grades of matter. Diagram V makes clear what happens. The

first chain is formed of

2 globes of âtmic matter,

2 globes of buddhic matter,

2 globes of higher mental matter,

1 globe of lower mental matter.

The second chain descends a step, in the order of its

matter, so that it has

2 globes of buddhic matter,

2 globes of higher mental matter,

2 globes of lower mental matter,

1 globe of astral matter.

The third and fourth chains plunge still lower into matter,

as indicated in Diagram V.

The diagram brings out several points of interest, which are

worthy of note. Thus, out of the 49 globes in the whole series of

7 chains,

17

4 are âtmic,

8 are buddhic,

12 are higher mental,

12 are lower mental,

8 are astral,

5 are physical.

Thus only the first and seventh chains have purely âtmic

globes; only the second and sixth have purely buddhic globes; all

but the fourth chain have higher mental globes; all but the first

and seventh have lower mental globes; only the third, fourth and

fifth chains have physical globes.

The central plane of the five planes is the mental, and this

plane alone is divided into two portions. Every one of the 7

chains has representative globes on the mental plane ; all but

the fourth chain, in fact, having representatives on both the

higher and the lower mental planes.

From this consideration, it is clear that the mental plane

plays a part of great importance in man's evolution: for, of the

whole 49 globes, 24, or nearly half, are on the mental plane.

Hence the appropriateness of the occult definition of man as

”that being in the universe, in whatever part of the universe

he may be, in whom highest Spirit and lowest Matter are joined

together by Intelligence.”

So we may say also that in the series of 7 chains, the

highest spiritual is joined to the lowest material by mental

matter, the substance of intelligence. The disintegration of the

globes into their component materials, and their re-integration

into 7 new globes at a lower or higher level, as the case may be,

18

is illustrated in Diagram VI.

The period between any two successive chains, during which

the matter of the previous chain is in a state of disintegration,

is known as the prâlaya of the chain, or the inter-chain prâlaya.

The whole series of 7 chains makes up what is called a

Scheme of Evolution, or sometimes merely a Scheme.

We therefore now have this table:

7 globe-periods = 1 round,

49 - ” - = 7 rounds = 1 chain-period,

343 - ” - = 49 - ” - = 7 chain-periods = 1 Scheme of

Evolution.

We may note in passing that, as indicated in Diagram V, we

are at present in the fourth chain of our Scheme of Evolution,

and therefore at its lowest level of materiality. The precise

point in that chain which we have now reached is, however, so

important as to deserve separate consideration at a later stage

of our study.

The 7 successive chains are sometimes spoken of as

”incarnations” of the chain. Chains are spoken of also as

Planetary Chains.

A chain may be regarded as the Upâhi or vehicle of the

Planetary Logos-an Entity who will be described in a later

chapter. We may think of the Planetary Logos re-incarnating

Himself in the 7 successive chains, each chain beginning with the

fruitage of its predecessor, each handing on to its successor

that which itself has made.

In the first 3 chains we may say Spirit or Life descends

into matter; in the fourth chain Spirit and, Matter are

interwoven and form innumerable relations; the last 3 chains are

those of upward climbing, at the end of which all will return to

the Planetary Logos, to merge into Îshvara with the fruitage of

evolution.

19

CHAPTER IV

SCHEMES OF EVOLUTION

IN the preceding chapter we saw that 7 successive chains, or 7

incarnations of a chain, make up a scheme of evolution.

A scheme of evolution is, in the main, a separate, distinct

and self-contained field of evolution, though certain very

important modifications of this general principle will be

explained later.

Diagram VII illustrates the Earth Scheme of evolution,

showing the 7 chains, each containing 7 globes, the 7 rounds

of each chain being indicated by the circles running through the

globes.

Be it noted, however, that although the whole 49 globes of

the Scheme are shown in the diagram, not more than one set of 7

is usually in existence at any given time (save for a few

”corpses,” like our Moon, which have not completely

disintegrated).

In the diagram, Mars, the Earth and Mercury are shown as

belonging to the fourth chain, the Moon to the third chain.

What we now call the Moon is the last remnant of a much

larger globe, which was the physical planet of the third chain,

holding the same position in the third chain that the Earth holds

in the fourth chain. In the seventh round of the Earth Chain, the

Moon will disintegrate entirely, so that the Earth will be

without a satellite.

In our solar system there are 1O separate and distinct

Schemes of Evolution. The names by which they are known are those

of the physical planets which, at the present time, happen to be

part of them. The 10 schemes are:

(1) The Vulcan Scheme.

(2) The Venus Scheme.

(3) The Earth Scheme.

(4) The Jupiter Scheme.

(5) The Saturn Scheme.

(6) The Uranus Scheme.

(7) The Neptune Scheme.

(8)-(10) Have no names at present, as they have no physical

20

planets. No. 8 is sometimes called the ”Asteroids” Scheme.

The present stage of the 10 schemes is shown in the table on

this side. The schemes are arranged in order of the nearness of

their physical planets to the Sun.

The statement that in our seventh round our satellite, the

Moon, will entirely disappear seems to be paralleled by a similar

phenomenon in the case of the Venus Chain. The Venus Chain, being

now in its seventh round, has no satellite. But some 150 years

ago a number of astronomers recorded observations of a satellite

of Venus, with a diameter estimated at 2,000 miles. Although it

is usually supposed that those astronomers were mistaken, it

seems more probable that the satellite did exist when they made

their observations, but has since then disappeared, as will our

own satellite in our seventh round.

It is stated that the material now forming the Asteroids

will some time be made into a globe, which has been tentatively

allocated to Scheme VIII. If we prefer to call this the Asteroids

Scheme, it would come between the Earth and the Jupiter Schemes,

the schemes being arranged in the order of the distances of their

physical planets from the Sun.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

³ ³ ³ ³Number of³

No. ³ Scheme.³ Chain.³Round.³Physical ³ Notes

³ ³ ³ ³Planets ³

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

I.³ Vulcan ³ 3 ³ 6(?) ³ 1 ³Will produce entities

³ ³ ³ ³ ³ at a lower level than

³ ³ ³ ³ ³ those of the Earth

³ ³ ³ ³ ³ Scheme.

II.³ Venus ³ 5 ³ 7 ³ 1 ³The most advanced Scheme

III.³ Earth ³ 4 ³ 4 ³ 3 ³The 3 planets are Mars,

³ ³ ³ ³ ³ the Earth and Mercury.

IV.³ Jupiter³ 3 ³ 2 ³ 1 ³Jupiter is not yet

³ ³ ³ ³ ³ inhabited, but its moons

³ ³ ³ ³ ³ are. It will attain to a

³ ³ ³ ³ ³ very high level.

V.³ Saturn ³ 3 ³ early³ 1 ³Evolves slowly, but will

³ ³ ³ ³ ³ reach a high level.

VI.³ Uranus ³ 3 ³ ³ 1 ³

VII.³ Neptune³ 4 ³ ³ 3 ³The three planets are

³ ³ ³ ³ ³ Neptune and two others

³ ³ ³ ³ ³ beyond his orbit.

VIII.³Un-named³ ³ ³ 0 ³

IX.³Un-named³ ³ ³ 0 ³

X.³Un-named³ ³ ³ 0 ³

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

In spite of the enigmatical statement by H. P. Blavatsky

that Neptune is not in our solar system, there is no question

that Neptune does revolve round the sun, and that the Neptunian

Chain is part of our system, being one of the 10 chains.

Experience having shown that many of the statements of H. P.

Blavatsky, apparently contrary to known facts, have later proved

21

to be true in some deeper and more esoteric sense, it may well be

that her statement regarding Neptune will also eventually be

found to be accurate, in some esoteric sense.

In The Secret Doctrine (Third Edition, Vol. I, pp. 186 -

190), there are emphatic statements that Mars and Mercury do not

belong to the Earth Chain. The statements, made by Dr. Besant and

by Bishop Leadbeater, that they do belong to the Earth Chain,

have been warmly challenged by certain occult students (vide

The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett, compiled by A. T. Barker,

1923, Introduction, p. XIII, and Appendix, pp. 489-492). The

present writer does not attempt to reconcile these apparently

irreconcilable statements, but here follows those of the two

later writers named, because his work is essentially a

compilation of their works, rather than those of H. P. Blavatsky

(vide Conclusion, p. 352).

In addition to these 1O schemes, there are also other

evolutions taking place in the solar system, every inch of space

being utilised.

Even in the koilon itself there may be proceeding an

evolution of which we know nothing and can imagine nothing.

All space is filled with life, and there are even orders

lower than that of the physical plane. Occasionally a human being

may come into touch with that lower evolution, but such

entanglement is always undesirable and harmful. That is not

necessarily because the lower evolution is in any way to be

regarded as evil, but because it is not meant for our humanity.

22

CHAPTER V

THE SOLAR SYSTEM

DIAGRAM VIII represents the solar system, with its 1O schemes of

evolution, each consisting of 7 chains of 7 globes, the 7 rounds

of each chain being indicated, as before, by the circles drawn

through the globes.

The student will by now have clearly realised that, as the 7

chains of each scheme come into existence successively, Diagram

VIII does not represent the solar system as it is at the present

time, but is a collective picture of the stages through which it

passes.

23

The actual state of the solar system at the present time is

indicated in Diagram IX. The round on which each chain is at

present engaged is shown, where it is known; where it is not

known, the rounds are dotted. The chains of schemes 8, 9 and l0

are also shown dotted, as their present stage is not known.

24

The solar system at present therefore has 70 planets which,

as previously said, may be regarded as having a definite location

in space, and as revolving round, or in some way depending upon,

our sun. These 70 planets are shown in Diagram X.

We may now make our final table as follows:

7 globe-periods = 1 round.

49 ” = 7 rounds = 1 chain-period.

343 ” = 49 ” = 7 chain-periods = 1

Scheme of Evolution.

10 Schemes of Evolution = our Solar System.

25

CHAPTER VI

THE BUILDING OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM

HAVING now studied, in broad outline, the general plan of the,

”field” of evolution in our solar system, it will be useful to go

over the ground again, filling in certain further details, and

considering also the way in which the system is originally

constructed out of primordial matter.

This time we shall commence with the large unit - the system

as a whole - and steadily work our way down to the smaller units

- the globes.

Before our solar system came into existence there existed

the ultimate root-matter, the substance out of which will be

fashioned every type of matter of which we have any knowledge.

This root-matter is what scientists call the ether of space, and

what has been described in Occult Chemistry under the name of

koilon (Greek Koilos, hollow).

This must not, of course, be confused with the etheric

matter which composes the finer part of our physical world.

To every physical sense, the space occupied by koilon

appears empty: yet in reality this ether is far denser than

anything of which we can conceive. Professor Osborne Reynolds,

the originator of the celebrated theory, which agrees with occult

investigation, defines its density as being 10,000 times greater

than that of water, and its mean pressure as 750,000 tons to the

square inch.

This substance is perceptible only to highly developed

clairvoyant power. We must assume a time - though we have no

direct knowledge on the point - when this substance filled all

space. We must also suppose that some great Being - almost

infinitely higher than the Logos of a solar system - changed this

condition of rest by pouring out His spirit or force into a

certain section of this matter, a section the size of a whole

universe.

The effect of the introduction of this force is as that of

the blowing of a mighty breath, forming within the ether, or

koilon, an incalculable number of tiny spherical bubbles. These

bubbles in koilon are the ultimate atoms out of which everything

that we call matter is manufactured.

They are the atomic matter of the lowest cosmic plane. Out

of them the Logos of our solar system will presently form the

seven planes of our system, those seven planes, taken together,

forming the lowest cosmic plane.

It is probable that the force by which the bubbles were

originally formed is what H. P. Blavatsky called fohat, which she

spoke of as ”digging holes in space,” thus reminding one of the

recent dictum of a French scientist that ”there is no matter;

there are nothing but holes in the æther.”

The bubbles are not like a soap-bubble, which is a film of

water with an outer and an inner surface, enclosing air within

it. They are like bubbles in sodawater, which have only one

surface, where the air meets the water.

As has just been said, to the highest sight available the

bubbles appear to be perfectly empty, so that it is not known

26

whether any motion is going on inside them or not. Neither is it

known whether they are rotating on their axes or not.

They seem to have no proper motion of their own, but they

can be moved as a whole from without, singly or en masse, by an

exertion of the will. No two bubbles ever under any circumstances

touch each other.

When the Solar Logos - the great Being of Whom our solar

system is some representation, corresponding possibly to an

incarnation, in the case of a human being - chose to manifest

Himself, when He came forth out of eternity into time, and wished

to form this system, He found ready to His hand this material,

this infinite mass of tiny bubbles.

He commenced by defining an area, the limit of His field of

activity, the limit, perhaps, of His own aura, a vast sphere,

whose circumference is far larger than the orbit of the outermost

of His future planets.

Stupendous as this area would be, the distance between solar

systems is yet out of all proportion greater than the systems

themselves. Nevertheless, it is probable that the Logoi of the

systems are actually in touch with one another, on the higher

planes.

Within the limit of the sphere thus marked out He sets up a

motion which sweeps together all the bubbles into a vast central

mass, thus condensing or compressing the bubble-matter, which was

originally scattered throughout the whole of the prodigious

space, into a smaller region.

At a certain stage in that condensation, or compression - a

stage when the radius of His globe still extended far beyond the

orbit of the outermost planet of the system, as it exists to-day

- He sets up within it a whirling motion, accompanied by intense

electrical action, thus making a colossal vortex in many dimen-

sions, the material of the nebula that is to be.

The compression of the whirling mass is continued through

what to us would be untold ages: in fact, the vortex made by the

Logos in the first place is still in action. In the course of

that process of compression, He, acting through His Third Aspect,

sends out seven impulses or ”breaths.”

The first impulse sets up all through the sphere a vast

number of tiny vortices, each of which draws into itself 49

bubbles, and arranges them in a certain shape. These little

groupings of bubbles, so formed, are the atoms of the second

plane or world - the anupâdaka or monadic plane.

The whole of the bubbles are not used in this way, but

sufficient are left, in the disassociated state, to act as atoms

of the first or âdi world.

In due time there comes a second impulse, which seizes upon

nearly all the 49-bubble atoms - leaving sufficient to provide

atoms for the anupâdaka world draws them back into itself,

disintegrates them into their component bubbles, and then,

throwing them out again, sets up among them vortices, each of

which holds within itself 49² or 2,401 bubbles. These are the

atoms of the third world, the plane of âtmâ.

Again after a time comes a third impulse, which in the same

way seizes upon nearly all the 2,401-bubble atoms - again leaving

sufficient to form the atoms of the âtmic world - draws them back

into itself, disintegrates them, and throws them out once more as

27

the atoms of the fourth world, that of buddhi, each atom now

containing 49³ or 117,649 bubbles.

The process is repeated until the sixth impulse has built

the atoms of the seventh or lowest world , the physical plane,

its atoms containing 496, or approximately 14,000 million of the

original bubbles. These atoms are not, of course, the atoms of

which chemists speak, but the ultimate atoms out of which all the

chemical atoms are made.

The numbers of bubbles contained in the atoms of our seven

planes are given in the following table:

Plane ³

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

³

Âdî . . . . . . . ³ 1 1

Anupâdaka . . . . . ³ 49 49

Âtmâ . . . . . . ³ 49² 2,401

Buddhi . . . . . . ³ 49³ 117,649

Manas (mental) . . . . ³ 494 5,764,800

Kâma (astal) . . . . ³ 495 282,475,249

Sthûla (physical) . . . ³ 496 13,841,287,201

³

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

It seems probable that electrons are astral atoms: for it is

stated by scientists that a chemical atom of hydrogen contains

from 700 to 1,000 electrons, and a chemical atom of hydrogen

contains the equivalent of 882 astral atoms. This may be a

coincidence, but that seems unlikely. Scientists thus appear to

be disintegrating physical matter and discovering astral matter,

though they will naturally think of astral matter as being a

further subdivision of physical matter.

Bishop Leadbeater, from whose writings the above is quoted,

does not know whether such disintegrated physical atoms re-form

themselves, but when, by an effort of will, the physical atom is

broken up into astral or mental atoms, it requires a continuation

of the effort to hold the atoms temporarily in those different

forms, and when the will-force is withdrawn the physical atom

reappears.

This, however, seems to apply only to the breaking up of the

ultimate physical atoms: when chemical atoms are broken into

ultimate atoms, they remain in that condition, and do not return

to their original state.

28

It should be noted that, although the atoms of any one

plane, the physical for example, are not made direct from the

atoms of the plane immediately above - the astral - yet, unless

the bubbles had had the experience of passing through all the

planes above, physical atoms could not be made of them.

The Hindu method of describing the process is as follows:

Each plane has what is called a, ”tanmâtra” (literally, a measure

of ”that” ), and a, ”tattva” (literally, ”thatness” or ” inherent quality” ). The tanmâtra is the modification in the consciousness

of the Logos: the tattva is the effect produced in matter by that

modification. We may compare the tanmâtras with the waves of an

incoming tide, which run up on a sandy shore, retire, and are

followed by other waves, which run up a little further. The

tattvas we may compare with the little ridges made on the sand by

the incoming waves, at the furthest line that they reach.

The idea is symbolised in Diagram XI.

Every atom thus has its ”Thatness,” the word ,”That” being a

reverent expression for the Divine Being. The measure of the

vibration of the atom, imposed upon it by the Will of the Logos,

is the Tanmâtra, the ”measure of That”; this is the axes of the

atom, the angular divergence of which, within the fixed limits of

vibration, determines its surface form.

Thus the consciousness of the Logos is within each atom,

expressed within certain limitations, which we sometimes call

”planes.”

The process of the creation of matter in successive stages

has often been described as the in-breathing and the out-

breathing of the Deity.

The existence of matter depends absolutely upon the

continuance of an idea in the mind of the Logos. If He chose to

withdraw His force, for example, from the physical plane - to

cease thinking it - every physical atom would instantly

disintegrate, and the whole physical plane would disappear in an

instant, like the light of a candle when it is blown out.

The ultimate physical atom has three movements of its own:

(1) rotation on its own axis; (2) motion in a circular orbit; (3)

a pulsation like a heart, a constant expansion and contraction.

These three movements are always going on, and are unaffected by

29

any force from outside. A force from outside - a ray of light,

for example - will set the atom as a whole moving violently up

and down, the amplitude of this movement being proportional to

the intensity of the light, and the wave-length resulting from

the movement of a number of atoms being determined by the colour

of the light.

Besides the force of the Logos, which holds the atom

together in its form, one of His forces is playing through it at

a number of different levels. There are seven orders of this

force, one of which comes into operation during each round,

working through what are called the spirillæ in the atom. For a

description of these spirillæ, as well as other details of the

structure of the atom, the students is referred to Occult

Chemistry (1919 edition, pp. 21-23, and Appendix, ii-vi.) .

In interstellar space - between solar systems - the atoms

are in the condition known as ”free,” lying far apart, and

equidistant, this seeming to be their normal condition when

undisturbed.

In the space between planets, however, they are never found

free: even if they are not grouped in forms they are subject to a

great deal of disturbance from cometic and meteoric matter, and

also to considerable compression from what we describe as the

attraction of the Sun.

From the above considerations, we perceive how it is that a

man in, for example, his causal body, could move freely in the

neighbourhood of a planet, where the atomic mental matter is in

the compressed condition, but would not be able to move or

function in far-away space, where the atoms remain free and

uncompressed.

To continue with our description of the building of the

solar system, we have now arrived at the stage where the vast

whirling sphere contains within itself seven types of atomic

matter, all one essentially, because all are built out of the

same kind of bubbles, but differing in their degree of density.

All these types are freely intermingled, so that specimens of

each type would be found in a small portion of the sphere taken

at random in any part of it, with, however, a general tendency of

the heavier atoms to gravitate more and more towards the centre.

The Logos next sends out, still from His Third Aspect, a

seventh impulse which, instead of drawing the physical atoms back

into Himself and dissociating them into the original bubbles,

draws them together into certain aggregations, thus making a

number of different kinds of what may be called proto-elements;

these again are joined together into the various forms which are

known to science as chemical elements.

The making of these extends over a long period of ages, and

they are made in a certain definite order, by the interaction of

several forces, as is correctly indicated in Sir William Crookes'

paper on The Genesis of the Elements.

The process of their making is even now not concluded:

uranium is the latest and heaviest element, so far as we know,

but others still more complicated may perhaps be produced in the

future.

As the ages roll on, condensation increases, and presently

the stage of a vast glowing nebula, usually of incandescent

hydrogen, is reached. Various other systems in our universe are,

30

of course, now passing through this stage, as may be seen by

means of any large telescope.

In our own case, as the mass cooled, still rapidly rotating,

it contracted and flattened until eventually it became rather a

huge revolving disc than a sphere. Presently fissures appeared in

this disc, and it broke into rings, presenting somewhat the

appearance of the planet Saturn and its surroundings, though on a

far larger scale.

As the time drew near when the planets would be required for

the purposes of evolution, the Logos set up at a chosen point in

the thickness of each ring a subsidiary vortex, into which a

great deal of the matter of the ring was gradually collected.

The collisions of the gathered fragments caused a revival of

the heat, the matter being reduced to a gaseous condition,

forming a glowing ball which, as it cooled once more, gradually

condensed into a physical planet fit to be the theatre of life

such as ours. Thus were all the planets of our system formed.

In this particular part of our system, however, the physical

planet which was formed was, not the Earth, but the Moon. For a

reference to Diagram V will show that the first physical planet

appears in the third chain, and that planet, in our Scheme of

Evolution, was the Moon.

When the active life of the Moon, in the third chain, was

over, a new vortex was set up, not far away from the Moon, and

the rest of the matter of the ring was gradually gathered into

it. The resultant collisions once more produced a ball of glowing

gas, which enfolded the body of the Moon, and very soon reduced

it to a similar condition.

As this combined mass gradually cooled, condensation took

place round the two vortices, but by far the greater portion of

the matter was attracted to the new vortex, which became the

Earth, leaving the Moon a much smaller body than it had been, and

altogether denuded of air and water.

The Moon was still, from the intense heat, in a plastic

condition, like hot mud, and the Earth in its earlier stages was

subject to the most tremendous volcanic convulsions. In the

course of these, enormous masses of rock, often many miles in

diameter, were thrown up into space, to vast distances in all

directions.

The majority fell back on the Earth, but some of them struck

the Moon while still in its plastic condition, and produced upon

it many of those huge depressions, which we now call lunar

craters. Some, but not many, of the lunar craters are, however,

really volcanic craters.

The Moon is at present like a vast cinder, hard but porous,

of a consistency not unlike that of pumice-stone, though harder.

Scarcely any physical action of any sort is now taking place upon

its surface. It is probably slowly disintegrating, and it seems

that in the course of our seventh round it will break up

altogether, and its matter will be used (with, presumably, some

of that of the Earth) to build a new world, which will be the

only physical globe of the fifth chain of our Scheme of Evolution

( vide Diagram V). To that new globe whatever remains of the Earth

will act as a satellite, just as the Moon now Serves the Earth.

In Theosophical literature, the Moon has often been

described as the eighth sphere, because it is not one of the

31

seven planets of our chain upon which evolution is taking place.

It is therefore a ”dead end,” a place where only refuse gathers.

It is a kind of dust-heap to the system, a kind of astral

cesspool, into which are thrown decaying fragments of various

sorts, such as the lost personality which has torn itself away

from the ego ( vide The Causal Body, p. 183).

32

CHAPTER VII

THE SOLAR LOGOS AND THE PLANETARY

LOGOI

WE have mentioned, in the preceding chapters, the Solar Logos. It

will now be fitting to consider Him, in His relation to the solar

system, and also His principal Ministers, Who are often called

the Planetary Logoi, though a more accurate name is the Planetary

Chain Logoi.

In the Logos of our solar system we have as near an approach

to a personal - it would be better to say an individual - God as

any reasonable man can desire - For of Him is true everything

good that has ever been predicated of a personal deity. Such

attributes as partiality, injustice, jealousy, anger, cruelty,

etc., we can, of course, set aside once and for all as being

impossible for any deity worthy of the name, and as belonging

merely to human imaginings. So far as His system is concerned, He

possesses omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence. The love,

the power, the wisdom, the glory, all are there in fullest

measure.

Yet He is a mighty Individual - a trinity in unity, and God

in very truth, though removed by we know not how many stages from

the Absolute, the Unknowable, before which even solar systems are

but as specks of cosmic dust.

It is probable that we cannot image Him at all; hence many

devout people prefer not even to try to make any image of Him,

but simply to contemplate Him as pervading all things, so that we

ourselves are also He, all other men are He, and in truth there

is nothing but God.

The Sun is His chief manifestation on the physical plane,

and that may help us a little to realise some of His qualities,

and to see how everything comes from Him. It may be regarded as

the lens through which His power shines forth.

We may note here that every fixed star is also a sun like

our own, each one being a partial expression of a Logos.

The physical Sun may be considered as a sort of chakram or

force-centre in Him, corresponding to the heart of man, the outer

manifestation of the principal centre in His body.

Although the whole solar system is His physical body, yet

His activities outside of it are enormously greater than those

within it. This solar system, which seems so stupendous to us, is

to Him but a little thing; for, though He is all this, yet

outside it and above it all He exists in a glory and a splendour

of which we know nothing as yet. Thus, though we can agree with

the pantheist that all is God, we yet go very much further than

he does, because we realise that He has a far greater existence

above and beyond His universe. ”Having pervaded this whole

universe with one fragment of Myself, I remain” ( Bhagavad Gita,

X, 42).

He thus exists far above His system: upon it He sits as on a

lotus throne. He is, as it were, the apotheosis of humanity, yet

infinitely greater than humanity. We might think of the Augoeides

33

( vide The Causal Body, p. 101) carried up higher and higher, and

to infinity. Whether that form is permanent, or whether it can be

seen at a certain level only - who shall say ?

Hence the rationale of the well-known symbol of the ”Great

Bird,” which is used to denote the Deity in the act of hovering

over His universe, brooding over the waters of space, or darting

onward along the line of His evolution. To repose between the

wings of the Great Bird means so to meditate as to realise union

with the Logos: and it is said that the man who reaches that

level may rest there for untold years.

It is probably beyond the power of words to express the

method of union of humanity with Him. We human beings may, in one

sense, be as cells in His body, but we are certainly very much

more than that For His life and power are manifested through us

in a way out of all proportion to that which would be a parallel

relationship at a lower level, viz., that of the cells in our own

physical bodies to ourselves as spiritual entities.

In His manifestation on the lowest cosmic plane, we may take

it that His First Aspect is on the highest level - that of Âdi -

the Second on the Anupâdaka or Monadic plane, and the Third in

the higher part of the Âtmic plane.

Hence, as an Adept, in the course of his development,

gradually raises His consciousness plane by plane, he comes first

to the Third Aspect, and realises his unity with that, moving on

only after long intervals to full union with the Second and the

First Aspects.

In the Ancient Mysteries of Greece, the Logos was symbolised

by the child Bacchus, who was represented as playing with certain

toys. One of these was dice, consisting of the five platonic

solids. These are:

The Tetrahedron, bounded by 4 equilateral triangles;

The Cube, bounded by 6 squares;

The Octahedron, bounded by 8 equilateral triangles;

The Dodecahedron, bounded by 12 regular pentagons;

The Icosahedron, bounded by 20 equilateral triangles.

Adding to these at one end the point, and at the other end

the sphere, we have a set of 7 figures, which correspond to the 7

planes of our solar system. Each of them indicates, not the form

of the atoms of the different planes, but the lines along which

works the power which surrounds those atoms.

This throws some light on the well-known saying of Plato

that ”God geometrises.” It seems that the ancients studied the

geometry of Euclid, not as we do, for itself, but as a guide to

something higher.

Another of the toys of Bacchus was the top, a symbol of the

whirling atom.

A third toy was a ball, representing the Earth, that

particular globe of the chain to which the thought of the Logos

is specially directed at the present time.

A fourth toy was a mirror, which has always been a symbol of

the astral light, in which the archetypal ideas (of which we

shall speak later) are reflected and then materialised.

Whilst the child Bacchus - the Logos - plays with his toys,

he is seized by the Titans and torn to pieces. Later these pieces

34

are put together and built into a whole. This allegory of course

represents the descending of the One to become the many, and the

reunion of the many in the One, through suffering and sacrifice.

The Hindus have, of course, long held that the Deity plays,

and they have called the great work of evolution the Lîlâ, or

play of Shrî Krishna.

The whole of our solar system is a manifestation of its

Logos, and every particle in it is definitely part of His

vehicles. All the physical matter of the solar system taken as a

totality constitutes His physical body; all the astral matter

within it constitutes His astral body; all the mental matter, His

mental body, and so on. From the Solar Logos comes forth all life

in the successive Outpourings ( vide The Causal Body, pp. 13,

14, 70). The First Outpouring comes from His Third Aspect, giving

to previously existing atoms the power to aggregate themselves

into the chemical elements the action described in the Christian

scriptures as the Spirit of God moving over the waters of space.

When, at a later stage, the kingdoms of nature are

definitely established, there comes the Second Outpouring, from

His Second Aspect, which forms group-souls for minerals, plants

and animals, this being the descent into matter of the Christ

principle, which alone renders possible our very existence. In

the human kingdom, the ego himself is a manifestation of the

Third Outpouring, which comes from His First Aspect, the

eternal and all-loving Father.

Before the solar system was brought into manifestation, the

Logos formed the entire scheme of it in His mind, and by doing so

brought it all simultaneously into existence upon His mental

plane. He has thus thought it out, not only as it is now, but as

it has been at every moment in the past, and as it will be at

every moment in the future.

At what level His mental plane may be we cannot tell; it may

be what we call the cosmic mental plane, or it may be higher

still. The cosmic mental plane is two whole sets of planes above

our set of seven.

To the cosmic mental plane H. P. Blavatsky gave the name the

”archetypal world”; the Greeks seem to have called it the

”intelligible world.” All that has been written and said about an

”instantaneous” creation of the whole system out of nothing

refers to this formation of cosmic thought-forms.

Thus we may say that on that cosmic plane the whole of the

System was called into existence simultaneously by His thought -

an act of special creation; and it must all be now simultaneously

present to Him. It may well be that His mighty consciousness to

some extent reflects itself even on very much lower levels, so

that men may occasionally catch faint glimpses of those

reflections. This is one explanation of clairvoyants being

sometimes able to foresee the future accurately, as

unquestionably has been done, from time to time.

The Logos thinks out what He intends each of the Planetary

Chains to do. He comes down to smaller, details, for He thinks of

the type of man for every Root-Race and sub-race, from the

beginning of all, through, for example, the Lemurian, the

Atlantean, the Âryan and the succeeding Races. We shall deal

later with certain of the Officials - if we may employ that term

- Who are in charge of, directing and controlling the evolution

35

taking place in the solar system: but we may mention here that

there is in charge of each scheme of evolution an Entity known as

a Planetary Logos: a more accurate name is a Planetary Chain

Logos, for He is in charge of the whole series of 7 chains in a

scheme of evolution.

These 7 subsidiary Logoi are great individual entities: and

yet at the same time they are aspects of the Solar Logos, force-

centres, or chakrams, as it were, in His body.

Their relation to Him is like that of the ganglia or the

nerve-centres to the brain. All evolution which comes forth from

Him comes through one or other of Them.

Each of these centres

has His special location or

major focus within the body

of the Sun, and also a minor

focus which is always

exterior to the Sun. The

position of this minor focus

is always indicated by a

physical planet. Diagram XII

is an attempt to illustrate

the idea.

The exact relation,

however, can hardly be made

clear in our three

dimensional phraseology. But

we may say that each centre

has a field of influence

practically co-extensive

with the solar system. If a

section of this field were taken, it would

be found to be elliptical: one of the foci of each ellipse would

always be in the Sun, and the other would be the special planet

ruled by that subsidiary Logos.

All the physical planets are included within that portion of

the system which is common to all the ovoids, so that each

revolving ovoid must have its projecting segment. Hence the

system as a whole has been compared with a flower with many

petals.

There is, however, another reason for this comparison with a

lotus. Although the planets appear to us as separate globes,

there is in reality a connection between them in a manner of

which some idea may perhaps be gained by those who have trained

themselves to a conception of four dimensions of space.

An analogy may be of some assistance. If the hand be held,

with the palm upwards, so as to form a kind of cup, but with the

fingers separated, and then a sheet of paper be laid on the tips

of the fingers, the circles at the points of contact between the

fingers and the paper would represent the physical planets,

apparently quite isolated from one another.

These circles are, however, all connected together in

another direction, as parts of the hand, although the idea of the

36

hand would be quite beyond the comprehension of a two-dimensional

being living only in the plane of the circles.

Similarly, in a higher dimension, all the physical planets

are connected together into one whole, being from this higher

point of view but the points of petals which are part of one

great flower. The heart of that flower throws up a central pistil

which appears to us as the physical sun.

Diagram XIII is an attempt to portray the idea.

Normally, neither the physical, astral nor mental planes of

one of our planets communicate with the corresponding planes of

another planet. On the buddhic plane, however, there is a

condition common to, at any rate, all the planets of our chain.

Notwithstanding the above, there is a condition of the

atomic matter of each of the planes which is cosmic in extent,

the 7 atomic sub-planes of our system, taken apart from the rest,

constituting one cosmic plane - the lowest, sometimes called the

cosmic-prakritic.

From one point of view it seems as though we were in truth

an expression of the Planetary Logos Himself, and as though the

evolution were taking place within His body, the globes being

centres in that body, or rather, not the globes that we see, but

the spirit of them-their higher principles.

From this point of view Globe A would be the expression of

His brain or mental body, and all these forms would exist in His

mind. For our mental plane is not only the third sub-division of

the lowest cosmic plane; it is also at the same time the lowest

sub-division of an aspect or manifestation of the Logos.

We may take it that He manifests Himself along seven lines

or through seven aspects, and that each of these that we call

planes is the lowest form of one of these aspects, so that the

atomic part of our mental plane is really the lowest sub-plane of

the mental body of the Planetary Logos.

The willow-leaves of the Sun are manifestations upon the

physical plane maintained by Devas for a special purpose, at the

cost of a certain sacrifice or limitation of their activities on

the higher levels which are their normal habitat. Recollecting

that it is through the willow-leaves that the light, heat and

vitality of the Sun come to us, we may readily see that the

37

object of their sacrifice is to bring down to the physical plane

certain forces which would otherwise remain unmanifested, and

that these great Devas are acting as channels, reflectors, or

specialisers of divine power working at cosmic levels for the

benefit of our solar system.

38

CHAPTER VIII

THE LIFE-STREAMS

WE have now completed the first portion of our study, on the

field of evolution, having outlined the planes and places in

which the evolution of life takes place. We may perhaps liken

this to a description of the buildings of a university, with its

colleges, lecture-halls and class-rooms. Our next step will be to

study the streams of life which pour into the vast and complex

structure of our solar system, just as streams or ”batches” of

students pour into a university, passing through various courses

of study, eventually obtaining their degrees, and passing out

into the world, there to fulfil such functions as their tastes

and qualifications permit. Instead of a university, however, it

would be more appropriate to use the illustration of a vast

educational establishment, comprising every degree of education,

from the nurseries and kindergarten of infants, to the most

advanced honours course of a university.

We shall commence with the larger units, the vast streams or

waves of life, and trace them through the various kingdoms of

nature, subdividing as they go, until eventually we reach the

races and sub-races of humanity, and individual men in those

races, who climb steadily through the higher levels of the human

kingdom until they pass into the superhuman levels of attainment.

In modern Theosophical literature the term ”life-waves” has

been employed in three distinct senses:

First. To represent the three great Outpourings(as they are

more usually and perhaps more appropriately called) of Divine

Life, from the three Persons of the Trinity, by means of which

the solar system came into existence, and by which it is

nourished and sustained.

Second. To describe the successive impulsions, or streams of

life, of which the Second Outpouring is formed. It is these with

which we are dealing in this chapter, and which we shall usually

denote, for the sake of clarity, as streams of life, or life-

streams.

Third. To signify the transference of life from one planet

of a chain to another planet, in the course of the various

”rounds.” This we shall deal with in detail at a later stage of

our study, when it will be seen that this kind of life-wave

differs considerably from what we have called a life-stream.

Confining ourselves to our human line of evolution -

ignoring for the moment the deva line of evolution, and other

lines which may exist, but of which we know as yet little or

nothing - we note that there are seven main kingdoms of life

evolving side by side through our earth Scheme. Whether the same

method is followed in the other nine Schemes or not, we do not at

present know for certain, though there appear to be indications

that this is probably substantially the case.

The seven kingdoms are:

The First Elemental Kingdom.

39

The Second Elemental Kingdom.

The Third Elemental Kingdom.

The Mineral Kingdom.

The Vegetable Kingdom.

The Animal Kingdom.

The Human Kingdom.

All seven of these kingdoms are manifestations or expressions of

the same life, the one life of the Logos, manifesting in that

Second great Outpouring, which comes from the Second Aspect of

the Trinity, after the primitive matter has been prepared for its

reception by the action of the First Outpouring, which comes from

the Third Aspect of the Trinity. (For fuller explanation of the

Three Outpourings, and their work, vide The Causal Body, pp. 13,

14, 70).

The Second Outpouring comes forth in a series of successive

waves, following one another like waves of the sea. It is the

history of the progress of these waves of life - which we have

decided to call Life-streams - that will be traced in this and

subsequent chapters. The first three of the seven kingdoms are on

the downward arc of evolution, i.e., the life in them is plunging

deeper and deeper into matter. The First Elemental Kingdom, in

fact, does not descend below the higher mental plane; the Second

Elemental Kingdom does not descend below the lower mental plane;

and the Third Elemental Kingdom comes down only as far as the

astral plane.

The Mineral Kingdom represents the turning point, where the

life reaches the lowest point of its descent into matter, and

commences to ascend again through the planes. This phenomenon of

descent into materiality and re-ascent into spirituality is one

which constantly recurs in many ways, and will be dealt with more

fully later on.

The Vegetable, Animal and Human Kingdoms are definitely

occupied in rising steadily through the planes.

We may therefore arrange the kingdoms thus:

The Second Outpouring (from the Second Logos) consists, as

said above, of streams of life; in our line of evolution there

are seven of these streams, composed of the seven kingdoms

enumerated, and these are poured into the first chain of our

Scheme.

The general plan is that each stream shall animate a kingdom

for a whole chain-period, passing on into the next higher kingdom

in the next chain, i.e., it takes a whole chain-period for any

given kingdom to evolve to such a point that it becomes fit to

pass into the kingdom succeeding it in the scale of progress.

40

That, as said, is the general principle: but there is an

important modification with which we shall deal presently. It is

omitted now, with so much else, in order to avoid introducing

complications at too early a stage of our study.

From this it will be seen that, as the First Elemental

Kingdom passes on into the Second Elemental Kingdom, there would

be a gap caused in the position vacated by the kingdom which had

passed on. This gap is filled by an entirely fresh life-stream,

which pours forth from the Logos, and thus makes a new First

Elemental Kingdom.

As this must take place in each of the seven chains, we

perceive that there are altogether thirteen life-streams in our

Scheme. These consist of the seven streams-one for each kingdom -

which entered the first chain, and six entirely new streams, one

of which entered each of the succeeding six chains, in order to

provide, as explained, a new First Elemental Kingdom.

The progress of the kingdoms through the seven chains of our

Scheme is illustrated in Diagram XIV.

The student is asked kindly to note the system adopted to

indicate the various kingdoms, as it is one which will be

followed in a number of subsequent diagrams. The First Elemental

Kingdom is shown by one vertical line; the Second Elemental

Kingdom by two vertical lines; the Third Elemental Kingdom by one

inclined line; the Mineral by crossed vertical and horizontal

lines; the Vegetable by inclined lines making a V . the Animal by

an A; the Human by an H. It will be noticed that these

indications have some relationship to the markings adopted for

the matter of the planes, which makes them easier to remember.

The student will notice also that throughout the diagrams,

whilst globes and rounds are indicated by circles, kingdoms of

life and groups of entities are indicated by squares or

rectangles.

From Diagram XIV it will be seen that the life which is now

being expressed in our present humanity came up through the

Animal Kingdom in the third (Moon) chain, through the Vegetable

Kingdom in the second chain, and through the Mineral Kingdom in

the first chain. Now, as each kingdom must pass through all the

kingdoms that precede it, it is clear that the life-stream, out

of which our present humanity has emerged, must have passed

through the three Elemental Kingdoms in some previous chains, in

some previous Scheme.

A similar consideration of course applies to all but the

lowest life-stream which entered our first chain, i.e., they must

have passed through previous chains in some previous Scheme. Of

such previous chains and Schemes we have no direct knowledge as

yet, though we can clearly deduce the fact that they must have

existed.

41

Diagram XV is an attempt to illustrate the progress of the

life-streams through successive Schemes.

The meaning of the seven radiating lines in Diagrams XIV and

XV, at the head of the Human Kingdom, is that human entities pass

out of the Human Kingdom into the superhuman, along one of seven

possible paths of future progress. The full explanation of this

we must once more postpone till a little later.

If we look at Diagram XIV we perceive that the only life-

42

stream which runs through the whole seven kingdoms in our Scheme

of seven chains is that which entered the first chain as the

First Elemental Kingdom (No. 7 in the Diagram). Climbing

steadily, one kingdom in each chain, this life-stream eventually

reaches the Human Kingdom, and passes out of it, in the seventh

and last chain of our Scheme.

The other six kingdoms of the first chain, as already said,

must have commenced their evolution in earlier chains, whilst the

six life-streams which emerge from the Logos and enter the six

chains after the first will have to continue and complete their

evolution in chains subsequent to the seventh and last chain of

our Scheme.

These considerations impress upon us the fact that, whilst

our Scheme of Evolution is a complete and more or less self-

contained field of evolution, having a definite beginning and a

definite ending, yet it forms one in a larger series of

successive Schemes. From this we may deduce that even the solar

system as a whole follows the general principle which we find

operating elsewhere in so many other directions, and is but one

incarnation in some gigantic series. Anything in the nature of

ultimate finality seems therefore-as we might have expected-to be

utterly beyond the furthest horizon to which we can stretch our

imaginations.

We have seen that the life-streams evolve through the

various chains, passing through the whole of the seven globes in

each round. Now it is very difficult for us to grasp with our

physical consciousness what can be the condition of the life of

the lower kingdoms on the higher planes; the idea of the

evolution of a mineral, for example, on the mental plane,

suggests nothing readily comprehensible to the ordinary mind. It

would correspond to our thought of a mineral. Yet we should not

assume that such a thought-form as we could make of a mineral

would be its only representation on that level. The thought-form

which exists there is that of the Manu, moulded by a power

altogether beyond comparison with that of our mentality.

It may also help us to an understanding if we recollect that

every mineral has its astral and mental counterparts, and it must

be on these higher correspondences of the minerals that are

produced certain effects which constitute their evolution.

Further, the special types of matter which form the

counterparts are also on their respective planes manifestations

of the mineral monad, and we may suppose that through such

manifestations that monad is evolving during its existence on

these loftier levels.

The essential fact to bear in mind seems to be that the

whole process is the bringing down of the mind-energies flowing

from the Logos - from His cosmic mental plane to that prakritic

mental which is our mental plane. It is His idea of a mineral,

materialised as far down as our thought of the etheric body of a

mineral.

The Group-Soul also must always contain within itself latent

possibilities connected with the higher planes through which it

has descended; and it may be that in those stages of evolution

these potentialities are being developed by some method quite

outside those with which we are familiar.

Without the unfolding of psychic faculties we cannot expect

43

to understand in detail the hidden growth in these exalted

spheres of finer matter; the important point is that we should

realise that the life-streams are evolving in some way during the

periods spent on all the globes, useful progress being made in

every part of the chain.

It has already been mentioned that, besides the line of

evolution which we are pursuing, there are also other lines which

may be considered as running parallel with our own. For the

divine life is pressing upwards through several streams, of which

ours is but one, and numerically by no means the most important.

We should bear in mind that physical humanity occupies only a

small part of the surface of the earth, whilst entities at a

corresponding level on other lines of evolution not only crowd

the earth far more thickly than man, but at the same time

populate the enormous plains of the sea and the fields of the

air. The table of the evolution of life, appended here, shows the

streams as flowing side by side as far as the mineral kingdom,

but as soon as the upward arc is begun, they diverge. The streams

re-unite at the Solar Spirits level.

The table must not be considered as in any way exhaustive,

as there are no doubt other lines which have not yet been

observed, and there are also certainly all kinds of variations

and possibilities of crossing at different levels from one line

to another. The table is designed merely to give a broad outline

of the scheme.

44

THE EVOLUTION OF LIFE

Solar Spirits

³

————————————————————————————————

³ ³

Higher Mental Devas Adepts Superhuman.

³ ³- - - - - - - - - - - -

Lower Mental Devas Disciples

³ ³

³ Advanced Men

³ ³ Human.

³ Ordinarie Men

³ ³

Astral Devas Primitive Men

Level of ³ ³

Individualisation - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

³ ³

(Astral) Sylfs ³

—————————————————————————————— Domestic

³ ³ Animals

Cloud-Spirits Fire-Spirits ³

(Higher Etheric) (Higher Etheric) ³

³ ³ ³

Higher Water-Spirits Surface Fairies Mammals Animal.

(Etheric) (Etheric) ³

³ ³ ³

———————————————————— ———————————————— ——————————————

³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³

Lower ³ Gnomes ³ ³ Antediluvian Lower

Water Fishes (Detacheble) Birds Tiny Reptiles Mammals

Spirits ³ ³ ³ Creatures³ ³

(Etheric) ³ ³ ³ (Etheric)——————————————

³ Cephalapods ³ Reptiles ³ ³

Etheric (Middle ³ ³ ³ ³ - - - - - - - - - - -

Forms Depts) ³ ³ Bees Trees

(Middle ³ ³ Insects ³ ³

Depts) ³ ³ ³ Ants Shrubs

³ Corals and ³ ³ ³ ³

Vague Spongs Gnomes Bacteria Cereals Flowering Vegetable

Etheric ³ (Amorphous ³ ³ Plants

Forms ³ and ³ ³ ³

(Deep Sea) ³ Undetacheble) ³ ³ Ferns

³ Seaweeds ³ Fungi Grasses Mosses

³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³

———————————————————— ———————————————————————————— - - - - - - - - - - -

³ ³

Water Earth

³ ³ Mineral

—————————————————————————————————————

³

Mineral Life

³

³ - - - - - - - - - - - - -

³

Elemental Life Elemental

45

CHAPTER IX

THE GOALS OF OUR SEVEN CHAINS

WE have already seen that each life-stream climbs steadily up the

kingdoms, at the average rate of one kingdom in each chain, until

it reaches the human kingdom. Continuing to evolve through the

human kingdom, it eventually rises out of ordinary humanity, as

we know it, enters the super-human kingdom, and passes along one

or other of seven possible paths of future progress and service.

We shall enumerate and describe these seven possible paths

presently.

But the stage at which human entities emerge from the

ordinary human evolution, and enter the superhuman kingdom,

varies considerably, according to the chain in which the

emergence takes place. Thus the level reached by the most

advanced humanity in the fourth chain is a great deal higher than

that attained in the first chain: the level that will be reached

in the seventh chain will be a still higher one.

There is, in fact, what may be called a ”goal” set for

humanity in each chain. This goal we may compare with the

passing-out examination at an educational establishment. But, to

complete the analogy, we must conceive of a certain class of

students who pass out of the university after, say, only one year

of tuition. They have reached a certain standard of education

and, as the world needs all grades of workers, they may be

considered qualified to perform certain grades of tasks in the

outer world.

At the end of the second year of tuition, another group of

students passes out: they will obviously have been able to reach

a standard higher than that attained by the first-year students,

and consequently will be qualified to fill posts of greater

responsibility in the outer world.

Similarly, after three years at the university, a third

group of students passes out, again at a higher level, having

qualified themselves for posts of still greater responsibility,

and needing more knowledge and experience. The process may be

considered as continuing for seven years, until the seventh batch

of students passes out, having attained a very high level and

having learnt, perhaps, practically all that the university can

teach them.

The university is then closed for a long vacation: or

perhaps it would be more accurate to say that it is broken up,

the buildings demolished, and the teaching staff dispersed. Such

students who have not passed out of the university will resume

their education in some future university, with a fresh staff of

instructors, and an entirely new set of buildings. Returning from

this analogy to our own seven chains in our Scheme, the goals, or

qualifying ”passing-out” examinations, are as follows:

For the First Chain . The First Initiation.

For the Second Chain . The Third Initiation.

For the Third Chain . The Fourth Initiation (that of the

Arhat).

For the Fourth Chain . The Fifth Initiation (that of the

46

Asekha Adept).

No definite information is available regarding the goals set

for the fifth, sixth and seventh chains. We may, however, indulge

in a few cautious speculations. It is well known that, whilst in

the very early stages of evolution, progress is almost

inconceivably slow, as we measure time, yet in the later stages

it becomes almost equally incredibly swift. The Master Kûthhûmi

has stated that ”when once a person enters upon the Path, if he

converges all his energies upon it [we have ventured to italicise

this qualification], his progress will be neither by arithmetical

nor geometrical progression, but by powers.”

That is to say, it would not be in the ratio 2, 4, 6, 8,

etc. (arithmetical progression), nor in the ratio 2, 4, 8, 16,

etc. (geometrical progression), but in the ratio 2, 4, 10, 256,

65,536, 4,294,907,296, etc. Thus a rate of progress expressed by

2, becomes, four stages later, one expressed by a figure

exceeding 4,000 millions. With such vast figures does nature

achieve her immense purposes.

We may therefore legitimately assume that the progress made

in the fifth, sixth and seventh chains will be enormously greater

than that achieved in the first four chains. That this must be so

is clear from the fact that the level of Arhat, reached at the

end of the third chain, may be considered as halfway to that of

the Adept, reached at the end of the fourth chain. Thus the

fourth chain seems to afford as much progress as the three first

chains.

It is stated in The Secret Doctrine (I, 228) that the

Perfected Men of the Seventh Round of our chain will be ”but one

remove from the Root-Race of their Hierarchy, the highest on

Earth and our Terrestrial Chain.” That is to say, the perfected

men of our humanity, after three-and-a-half more rounds of

evolution, will arrive one stage below that at which now stands

the ,”Lord of the World,” an Entity who will be described in

Chapter XIX.

There are, moreover, a number of considerations which

indicate a very high level of attainment for humanity at the end

of our seventh chain. Thus, for example, even the buddhic

consciousness gives a man his first touch of unity with the

Logos. The Asekha Adept strives to raise the consciousness of His

Monad into the consciousness of the Logos. The Monads are

projected from the Logos in order that they may eventually return

to Him as great and glorious suns, each capable of giving life

and light to a magnificent system, through which and by means of

which millions of other Monads may in turn develop. Each Monad

has come, into manifestation through one of the Planetary Chain

Logoi, and will eventually become part of a Heavenly Man, these

Heaven-born Men being the true inhabitants of the solar system,

the mind-born sons of the Planetary Logoi, destined themselves to

be the Planetary Logoi of the future. We may therefore surmise

that, at the end of the seventh chain, when our Scheme of

Evolution is completed, the level we shall have reached will be,

shall we say, something commensurate with that of a Planetary

Logos.

47

Diagram XVI may perhaps assist the student to memorise the

goals set for our chains. In the diagram, the seven chains are

arranged concentrically, the first being the innermost, the

seventh the outermost. The wave of life which passes round the

chains enters the first chain, and may be conceived as swinging

round the globes and then, much as a stone is propelled when

released from a whirling sling, projecting the most advanced

humanity up to a certain level, viz., that of the First

Initiation.

The remainder of the life-wave enters the second chain,

swings round its globes and, in so doing, this being on a larger

circle in the diagram, attains a higher velocity, precisely as

would happen to a stone when whirled in a larger circle, this

higher velocity enabling it to project its most advanced humanity

to a higher level, viz., that of the Third Initiation. Similarly

with each of the succeeding chains, the velocity of evolution

becoming greater and greater as the circles become larger, until

the seventh circuit is able to project its most advanced members

to a very high, but as yet unknown, level.

We have just seen that when an entity has achieved the level

48

set for humanity in any given chain, he commences his superhuman

evolution, and there open before him seven paths, of which he may

choose one. The seven paths are as follows:

(1) He may enter Nirvâna, to become perhaps in some future

world an Avatâra, or divine Incarnation. This is sometimes

called ”taking the Dharmakâya vesture,” the Dharmakâya

keeping nothing below the Monad.

(2) He may enter on the ”Spiritual Period,” a path which

includes that of ”taking the Sambhogakâya vesture”; he

then retains his manifestation as a triple spirit and can

probably show himself in a temporary Augoeides.

(3) He may ”take the Nirmânakâya vesture,” retaining his

causal body and all his permanent atoms.

(4) He may remain a member of the Occult Hierarchy.

(5) He may pass to the next chain, to help building its

forms.

(6) He may join the Deva evolution.

(7) He may join the ”Staff” of the Logos. For further

details of these seven paths the student is referred to

The Causal Body, p. 321.

49

CHAPTER X

DEGREES OF ATTAINMENT

Having now grasped the main outlines of the steady progress of the

life-streams, rising at the average rate of one kingdom in each

chain-period, we may now introduce the important modifying factor,

which was mentioned in Chapter VIII.

Again we may employ the analogy of a batch of students at a

university. It is a practically universal experience that, in

every group of students, there will be a small minority who shoot

ahead of the others, either because they have exceptional ability

or because they apply themselves more whole-heartedly to their

studies. This is the class that obtains ”honours” degrees.

After them comes the main body of the students, who succeed

in passing their examinations and who obtain an ordinary

”degree.”

After them again comes another minority-the ”tail” of the

class. These students” either on account of their lesser

abilities or through their lack of industry and application, fail

to pass out” and therefore will have to return to the university

for another term, or portion of a term, in order to secure their

degrees.

Precisely the same thing happens with each of the life-

streams in each kingdom. There is always a small minority who run

far in advance of the remainder and attain the ”goal” before the

appointed time. Next comes the great majority of the entities”

who fulfil the task set” and attain the level required at the

time appointed. After them again comes the ”tail" another

minority, though larger than the former minority, who fall

behind, having failed to attain the level required.

Diagram XVII illustrates the process. Three kingdoms, A,

B and C, are shown, and two periods, I and II. Of kingdom B, in

period I, a tiny minority shoots ahead

of the rest, reaches the goal set, and

passes into kingdom A in the same

period. The bulk of kingdom B passes

into kingdom A in period II, in the

normal routine manner.

The remainder of kingdom B, a

minority larger than the former

minority, fails to qualify for kingdom

A and so continues in kingdom B in

period II.

But, having already had some

experience in kingdom B, whereas the

remainder of kingdom B in period II,

having only just come from kingdom C in

period I, will be only I commencing its

evolution in kingdom B, this laggard

50

minority is able to take the lead in.

period II. It is therefore shown in the diagram as entering

kingdom B in period II at the head of that kingdom.

We may now reconstruct our diagram of the progress of

the kingdoms, so as to show these complications in detail.

Diagram XVIII is such a reconstruction. It may be explained as

follows: Let us take, for example, the vegetable kingdom in chain

I. The backward portion of this kingdom enters chain II, and

there leads the evolution of the vegetable kingdom. The bulk of

the vegetable kingdom from chain I passes into the animal kingdom

in chain II. A tiny minority of the vegetable kingdom in chain I

succeeds in attaining to the level of animals in chain I, and

therefore joins the animal kingdom in chain I.

Following the progress of the main body of the animal

kingdom of chain II, the process repeats itself. The laggard

animals join the animal kingdom in chain III and lead that

kingdom. The bulk becomes human in chain III; the small vanguard

joins the human kingdom in chain II.

In chain III the laggard humans resume their human

evolution in chain IV, where they lead the humanity of that

chain. The bulk of the human entities attain their goal in chain

III, and pass on to further fields of evolution and service,

along one or other of the seven lines, as shown in the diagram by

the ascending, diverging lines at the head of the kingdom.

Again a small minority succeeds in advance of the rest,

and is shown in the diagram by the small spire rising from the

centre of the kingdom. This group, of course, also has seven

choices before it, as indicated by the seven radiating lines

emerging from its head.

51

In view of the fact, already stated, that the degrees of

success attained by the members of each kingdom vary

considerably, we should regard each of the life-streams as

breaking up into smaller streamlets some of which join the

preceding or succeeding streams, though the majority move

steadily forward along the appointed course.

We may mention here an important principle, affecting

the progress of the various streams of life and their innumerable

sub-divisions, of which we shall find many particular examples in

the later portions of our study. It is the general rule that

those who have attained the highest possible in any chain, round,

globe or race, are not born again into the beginning of the next

chain, round, globe or race, respectively.

The earlier stages are always for the backward entities,

the youngest” and only when they have already passed through a

good deal of evolution” and are beginning to approach the level

of those who had done better, do those others descend into

incarnation and join them once more.

That is to say, almost the earlier half of any period of

evolution, whether it be a race, a globe, a round or a chain,

seems to be devoted to bringing the backward people up to nearly

the level of those who have got on better. Then these latter-who

in the meantime have been resting in the mental world, in

devachan-descend into incarnation along with the others, and they

all then proceed together along their path of progress.

Thus, for example, as we shall see in detail later on,

the most developed from the third or Moon Chain do not enter the

52

first round of the fourth or Earth Chain, but come in only in the

middle of the fourth round. Also the egos who incarnate in the

first Root-Race of a planet are those who have not progressed

beyond the middle of the evolution of the preceding planet.

Using once more our analogy of students at a university,

we may imagine that the more backward students return to their

colleges, after their vacation, sooner than the more advanced

students. They then have an opportunity of catching up

approximately to the level of the more advanced students, who

remain still on vacation. When they have done this, the more

advanced students then return to their colleges, and all of them

then resume their studies side by side.

The student should bear in mind this important principle

because, as just said, he will presently find many examples of

its workings, the rationale of which becomes perfectly clear when

once the main principle is clearly grasped.

Further study of the degrees of attainment of the

various kingdoms leads us to a consideration of a most

interesting and important part of the general plan of evolution,

viz., that of the ”Days of Judgement.” With this we shall deal in

a separate chapter, but, as it involves references to the races

of mankind, we will first explain the division of the human

kingdom into these races and sub-races.

53

CHAPTER XI

RACES AND SUB-RACES

For the purposes of the general scheme of evolution, the human

kingdom is divided into seven great races, usually called Root-

Races, in each globe-period. But it would perhaps be more

accurate to say that in each globe-period there are seven stages

of growth of the human kingdom, these stages not always being so

clearly marked or differentiated from one another as is the case

at present, with our clearly-distinguishable races.

Each of these Root-Races, or stages of development, is

divided into seven sub-races, or seven sub-stages; and again each

sub-race is further divided into seven smaller units, variously

known as branch-races, or nations.

In our present globe-period the seven Root-Races are as

follows:

First Root-Race. This is called the Etheric Race,

because it possessed no bodies denser than the etheric. No

definite sub-races can be spoken of, though there are seven

stages of growth or evolutionary changes. This race has long

disappeared from the Earth.

Second Root-Race. This is the Hyperborean Race: it had

physical bodies, and occupied a continent, called Plaksha, in the

north of the globe. It also has now disappeared from the earth.

Third Root-Race. This, the Lemurian Race, occupied the

continent of Lemuria, or Shalmali, as it is called in ancient

story. Roughly speaking, this was a large Pacific continent in

the South Sea. The race is the Negroid, and some of its

descendants still exist, though by this time much mixed with

offshoots of later races.

Fourth Root-Race. This, the Atlantean Race, inhabited

the continent of Atlantis, or Kusha, most of which has now

disappeared beneath the Atlantic Ocean. Most of the present

inhabitants of the Earth to-day belong to this race.

Fifth Root-Race. This is the Âryan Race, and includes at

present the most advanced members of the Earth's inhabitants.

Krauncha is the name given to the present land surface of Europe,

Asia, Africa, America and Australia.

Sixth Root-Race. This Race has not yet come into being,

though it will shortly appear. It is destined to occupy a new

continent, which has already begun to rise, fragment by fragment,

in the Pacific.

Seventh Root-Race. This Race will follow the sixth, and

will be the last to appear on the earth in this cycle or round.

Nothing is as yet known of the continent it will inhabit, though

the name Pushkara is sometimes given to it.

The names of the seven sub-races of the Fourth

(Atlantean) Root-Race are as follows:

(1) Rmoahal.

(2) Tlavatli.

54

(3) Toltec.

(4) Turanian.

(5) Semitic.

(6) Akkadian.

(7) Mongolian.

The sub-races of the Fifth Root-Race a re as follows:

(1) Hindu.

(2) Aryo-Semitic.

(3) Iranian.

(4) Kettle.

(5) Teutonic.

(6) Only just commencing to arise in various parts of

the world.

(7) Not yet appeared.

In the latter part of this book we shall take up the study of

these races and sub-races in some detail. For the present,

however, we are concerned only to note the division of the human

kingdom into these broad classes.

The Root-Races-or the stages corresponding to Root-

Races-of our chain of globes are illustrated in Diagram XIX.

There being seven Root-Races in each globe-period, there are 49

Root-Races in each round, and 343 Root-Races in the whole chain.

55

Diagram XX illustrates the earth, with its Root-Races and

sub-races. Those which are past and gone are shown in dotted

56

lines; those of which some descendants still exist are shown with

continuous lines, their names also being marked; those Root-Races

which have not yet come into being are again shown by dotted

lines.

In order to give the student some perspective idea of the

proportionate place held by Root-Races and sub-races in the whole

vast scheme, Diagram XXI illustrates all the units, from chains

down to sub-races.

Expressed numerically, the relationships are as follows:

7 Branch-Races or Nations . 1 Sub-Race.

7 Sub-Races . . . 1 Root-Race.

7 Root-Races . . . 1 Globe-Period.

7 Globe-Periods. . . 1 Round.

7 Rounds . . . . 1 Chain.

7 Chains . . . . 1 Scheme of Evolution.

1O Schemes of Evolution . Our Solar System.

57

CHAPTER XII

THE INNER ROUND

IN Chapter II, which dealt with Rounds, we saw that each globe of

a chain becomes in turn fully active; then it passes into a

period of obscuration, whilst the next globe in order becomes

fully active for a time. This process is repeated, each globe of

the chain thus enjoying seven periods of full activity, with

intervening periods of obscuration,

or prâlaya.

Another way of describing the

phenomenon is to say that the Logos

fixes His attention upon a given

globe, where-upon the life there

flames out, and evolution of the

kingdoms pushes rapidly forward. When

He withdraws His attention from the

Life-Wave. Globe, the life fades

away, the wheels of progress slacken,

and the wave of life passes on to the

globe to which His attention is next

turned. But on none of the globes

does the life ever die out

altogether. The term Life-wave will

be used for the transference of life

from one globe to an other.

Diagram XXII expresses the idea.

The diagram shows one globe in the full blaze of the attention of

the Logos, whilst the other six globes enjoy but a tiny beam of

His Radiance, and are consequently in a condition of obscuration,

partial but not complete.

The passing of the life-wave from one globe to another is a

gradual process, and there is considerable overlapping.

Taking, as an example, our own chain at the present time,

although the attention of the Logos is now fixed especially on

our earth, which is consequently enjoying a period of maximum

activity, there are yet representatives of all the kingdoms of

life simultaneously existing upon every one of the six other

globes of the chain. These representatives, or nuclei, serve at

least three purposes:

I. They obviate the necessity of creating anew the forms for

the kingdoms of life to occupy, during the next and succeeding

periods of full activity. They thus furnish the seed, from which

the forms will develop when the attention of the Logos is once

more directed to the planet concerned, in the next round.

II. They serve as evolutionary fields for entities who are

lagging somewhat behind their fellows.

III. They serve as forcing-houses for certain entities who

are making unusually rapid progress.

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We shall now explain these three functions.

It is obvious that, if representatives of the kingdoms were

not left on each globe, a vast amount of labour and time would

have to be expended, each time a globe came into full activity,

in building up afresh the myriads of forms for occupation by the

kingdoms of life. Such a course would be highly uneconomical, and

is rendered unnecessary by the device of leaving a nucleus of

each kingdom on each globe.

The nucleus of each kingdom remains small. It usually

maintains its numbers at about the same level through the untold

millions of years that elapse before that planet again becomes

active. When its turn for full activity arrives, and a vast

number of entities are ready to incarnate in it, the stagnant

race suddenly becomes wondrously prolific; great changes and vast

improvements of all kinds are quickly introduced, and vehicles

are soon evolved fit to receive the coming inrush of entities far

more highly evolved than those in the original nucleus.

Diagram XXIII illustrates the process. In this diagram,

which represents our own chain, the original seven kingdoms on

Globe C (Mars) are shown dotted, indicating that they have

disappeared except for a much shrunken nucleus, as represented by

the small squares. The wave of life then passes on to the next

globe, the Earth, where it becomes fully active, the

kingdoms then reaching their maximum size.

59

When the time comes for the wave of life to leave the Earth,

and pass on to Mercury, Globe E, the nuclei which exist there

will become prolific, and expand until represented in the diagram

by the arrows radiating outward from the nuclei to the larger

squares, which represent the full-sized kingdoms.

We come now to the second function of the nuclei-the

provision of a field of evolution for backward entities. Towards

the end of every round there are always certain entities, in all

the kingdoms, which do not achieve quite what was expected of

them; consequently, when the evolution on Globe F is completed,

they are not fit to go on to Globe G.

They are, accordingly, left behind, and continue to work on

steadily among the remnant nucleus. They may, in process of time,

make sufficient progress to join the remnant nucleus on Globe G.

Possibly, also, by some extraordinary impulse, occasionally some

may hurry on and overtake the wave of life out of which they have

dropped.

More often, however, they will continue to lag behind, until

they are overtaken by the wave of life on its next journey round

the globes. In that case, they-we refer here of course to human

entities-usually find themselves in a class of Monads lower than

that to which they previously had belonged.

Such laggards thus fall behind the life-wave and, by losing

one round, drop into an inferior class. As already said, a

certain proportion of these laggards appear on every planet, and

in all the various kingdoms, e.g., mineral essence that fails to

60

reach the vegetable kingdom, vegetable life that fails to reach

the animal kingdom, animals that fail to become individualised as

human beings.

Diagram XXIV illustrates the process. Two classes of

entities are shown, the first halved, in the drawing, the second

quartered. An entity drops behind from Class I, remaining with

the small nucleus on Globe F. The remainder of Class I and Class

II then pass through Globes G, A, B, C, D, E and back again to

F, in the succeeding round. The entity, still in the nucleus of

Globe F, then joins Class II on Globe F and continues his

evolution with that class.

The third function of the nuclei-and this is the one which

is usually spoken of as the function of the Inner Round proper-is

the exact reverse of the above, and is to enable certain entities

to make unusually rapid progress. Diagram XXV illustrates the

process.

On Globe D, the Earth, are shown two classes of entities,

Nos. I and II. Under certain conditions of strong desire for

advancement, an entity of Class II, if he is seen to be striving

with exceptional vigour to improve himself, may be separated from

the great mass of his fellows on this planet, and passed by the

Authorities into the Inner Round proper, taking his next

incarnation, not on the Earth, but among the limited population

on Mercury.

In that case he will spend there about the same time that he

would otherwise have devoted to incarnations in one root-race on

61

the Earth, and will then pass on to the astral planet F. After a

similar stay there, he will be transferred to Globes G, A and B,

successively, and then to Mars and to the Earth.

In view of the fact that, on each globe, he will have made a

stay about equivalent to the normal period of a Root-Race, the

life-wave will have left the Earth by the time he works round to

it again, and will have passed on to Mercury. Here he will rejoin

it, but now as a member of Class I; and with that Class he will

continue his future evolution. By thus racing round the whole

series of seven planets of the chain, he has raised himself into

a higher class of Monad.

Entities, engaged upon this special line of evolution, form

the majority of the small population of Mercury and Mars at the

present time. But in Mars there is also a certain residuum of

primitive mankind, which was left behind when the life-wave

passed from Mars to the Earth, being unfit to come to the Earth

with the rest of their fellows. This race represents a stage of

humanity lower than any at present existing, of which we have any

knowledge. It will probably be extinct long before we reach Mars

in the fifth round, since there appear to be no other egos

needing manifestation at that level for the moment.

62

CHAPTER XIII

”JUDGEMENT DAYS”

THERE are many legends of a ”last judgement,” at which the future

destiny of men will be decided. Behind these legends there lies

an important occult truth, though unfortunately the diseased

imagination of the mediæval monk distorted the perfectly simple

and rational idea of æonian suspension into that of ”everlasting

damnation.”

Our old analogy of a school may again be used to explain the

rationale of the process. We may postulate a teacher of a class

who, with a year's work before him, has to prepare his pupils for

a certain examination. He makes his plans, so as to allot

appropriate portions of the work to each term and month of the

year. But, as the pupils are of various ages and capacities, some

learn rapidly and make speedy progress, whilst others drag

behind. Moreover, new students are constantly coming into the

class, some of them only just up to its minimum standard.

About half way through the year the teacher, reviewing the

position, decides to admit no more pupils to his class. This he

does because, knowing what is required for the examination, he

realises the impossibility of any pupil below a certain initial

standard, making sufficient progress to enable him to pass the

examination at the end of the year.

A little later in the year, the teacher again reviews the

position of his pupils and foresees that, whilst some of his

students will certainly pass the examination, the prospect of

others is doubtful, whilst there are yet others who are certain

to fail. He would then, with perfect reason, say to these last,

the least advanced of his pupils:

”We have now reached a stage when the further work of this

class is useless to you. You cannot possibly, by any effort,

attain the necessary standard in time for the examination. The

more advanced teaching, which must now be given to the others,

would be entirely unsuitable for you, and, as you cannot

understand it, you would not only be wasting your own time, but

would also be a hindrance to the rest of the class. It will

therefore be better for you at once to transfer yourselves to the

class next below this, perfect yourselves there in the

preliminary lessons, which you have not yet thoroughly learned,

and come back to this level with next year's class, when you will

be sure to pass with credit.”

Here we have exact analogies of what has taken place, and

will take place, in our earth chain. For, in the middle of the

fourth round, save for a few exceptional cases, the ”door was

shut” for animals to enter the human kingdom, the reason being

that, if they were allowed to enter, at this late stage of the

chain, it would be impossible for them to continue evolving side

by side with a humanity which would be so much in advance of

them.

Next, in the middle of our next round, the fifth, will take

place the great ”separation,” when human entities, who are not

sufficiently advanced to progress with the rest, will be dropped

out and pass into a condition of suspension, until a future chain

63

provides for them opportunities suitable for them to continue

their evolution.

This section of the human kingdom may be described as ”lost”

to us, the remainder, because its members drop out of this

particular little wave of evolution. In College phraseology, they

will cease to be ”men of our year.” They will, however, become

”men of the next year”-in fact, they will become leading men in

it, because of the work they have already done” and the

experience they have already had.

Most of these people fail because they are too young,

although they are too old to remain in the class below-the animal

kingdom. They have had the experience of going through the first

portion of the chain, and will therefore be able in the next

chain to take up their evolution readily and easily, and,

moreover, will be able to help their more backward fellow-men who

have not had their advantages. For such as these, who ”fail,”

because they are too young, there is clearly no blame whatever.

There is, however, another large class, who might have

succeeded by determined effort, but who fail for want of that

effort. These correspond to pupils who fail, not because they are

too young, but because they are too lazy to do their work. Their

fate is the same as that of the others, but, while those were

blameless because they did their best, these others are

blameworthy precisely because they did not do their best. Hence

they will carry with them a legacy of unpleasant karma, from

which the former class will be free.

It is to men of the class who are not making sufficient

effort that the exhortations of the Christ were particularly

addressed, i.e., men who had the opportunity and ability to

succeed, but who were not making the necessary efforts.

It is of these, again, that H. P. Blavatsky spoke in such

vigorous terms as ”useless drones who refuse to become co-workers

with Nature, and who perish by millions during the manvantaric

life-cycle” ( The Secret Doctrine, III, 526). We note, however,

that this ”perishing” is merely from this ”manvantaric life-

cycle,” i.e., from this chain, and that it means for them, not

total extinction, but only delay.

Delay, in fact, is the worst that can happen to people in

the ordinary course of evolution. Such delay is undoubtedly

serious, but, bad though it be, it is the best that can be done

under the circumstances. Such people are clearly in need of more

training, and that training they must have, even though it may

mean many lives-many of which may be dreary, and may even contain

much suffering. But that is the only way in which they can attain

to the level destined for them, and to which they certainly will

attain in due course.

It was with the object of ”saving” as many people as

possible from that additional suffering that the Christ said to

His disciples: ”Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to

every creature; he that believeth and is baptised shall be saved,

but he that believeth not shall be damned.” For baptism, and its

corresponding rites in other religions, is the sign of the

dedication of the life to the service of the Brotherhood, and the

man who grasps the truth, and consequently sets his face in the

right direction, will certainly be among the ”saved" or ”safe,”

who escape the ”condemnation” in the fifth round. The

64

”damnation,” as we have seen, means merely rejection from this

”æon” or chain of worlds, a throwing back into the next of the

successive life-streams.

The ”belief,” referred to above, does not, of course, refer

solely to men who accept Christianity or Theosophy. It does not

matter in the least what their religion is, so long as they are

aiming at the spiritual life, so long as they have definitely

ranged themselves on the side of good as against evil, and are

working unselfishly onward and upward.

The above problem may be approached from a numerical basis.

It seems that it is just possible for even the lowest savage now

living to reach, before the middle of the fifth round, the level

necessary for continued evolution in this chain; but, in order to

do so, he must never once fail to take advantage of each

opportunity, as it is offered to him; and the number who will do

this will be infinitesimally small.

It has been calculated that the proportion who will be

prepared to continue in this chain will be about three-fifths of

the total population of the present human kingdom, whilst the

remaining two-fifths will be suspended.

The total number constituting the present human, kingdom is

estimated at some 60,000 million, this number of course including

not merely the physical population but also those on the astral

and other planes. Hence, approximately 36,000 million will go

on with the chain, whilst 24,000 million will be suspended.

After this great ”separation,” the surroundings will be

specially adapted for the rapid progress of the more advanced

egos, and will therefore be wholly unsuitable for entities at a

much lower stage of evolution, because the gross vibrations of

violent passion, which are necessary for the development of the

inert and half-formed astral body of the savage, will no longer

be available. It is easy to imagine many ways in which this

unsuitability will show itself. Thus, for example, in a world of

high intellectual and spiritual development, where war and the

slaughter of animals have long been things of the past, the

existence of savage races, full of undisciplined passions and

desire for conflict, would obviously intrude many serious

difficulties and complications. And though, no doubt, means might

be devised for their repression, that very repression would debar

them from the activities requisite for their early stage of

evolution.

Those entities who are left behind will, as said, take

their place in the next chain. They will not on that account

suffer in any way. They will merely have a very prolonged period

of rest in such heaven-life as they may be capable of

appreciating, and, no doubt, even though their consciousness

during that period will probably be but partially awakened, a

certain amount of inner progress will be going on.

From that condition, they will descend into the earlier

stages of the evolution of the next chain, and will be among the

leaders of primitive humanity there. The remainder of that

humanity will, of course, consist of human entities created from

what is now, on the earth, our animal kingdom.

Another important reason why the great fifth round

”separation” is necessary, is that the later races of men will

be in much closer touch with the Adepts and the great devas than

65

is now the case. It will therefore be necessary for them to hold

themselves in an impressible condition, in readiness to receive

and respond to an outpouring of influences. This, in its turn,

requires that they shall live a peaceful and contemplative life,

which would, of course, be an impossibility if there were still

left in the world savage races who would attack and kill a man in

a state of contemplation.

The more powerful vibrations of that time would not rouse

the higher nature of the savage, but merely stimulate and

intensify his lower passions, so that he would gain nothing by

being on earth at that time, whilst he would make impossible the

progress of the more developed people.

It must not be thought that the whole of the human entities,

who succeed in passing the critical point in the fifth round,

will attain the full goal set for this chain, viz., that of the

Asekha, or Adept. On the contrary, it is estimated that only one-

third of those who continue in the chain will become Adepts.

The other two-thirds will have to enter the next chain, the

fifth, though not in its earlier stages; they will probably

appear at about its middle point. For them, however, the matter

will be complicated by the fact that the goal set for the fifth

chain will be higher than that set for the fourth or present

chain, i.e., it will be some level higher than that of the Asekha

Adept.

Whilst we are dealing with this point, it will be well to

complete this portion of our study and describe what will

probably be the actual distribution of human entities at the end

of our chain. We can enumerate six well-defined classes, though

obviously each of these might be further sub-divided.

I. Those who, following the steeper Path, attain Adeptship

in rounds before the fifth.

II. Those who attain the goal set, and become Adepts in the

seventh round. These are the vanguard of those who followed the

usual path.

III. Those who attain the Arhat level in the seventh round.

IV. Those who are on the three lower levels of the Path

Proper, i.e., who have passed the First, Second or Third

Initiations.

V. Those who ”failed”, at the critical point in the fifth

round.

VI. The great body of the animal kingdom, who will arrive at

individualisation into the human kingdom towards the end of the

seventh round, and so will form the humanity of the fifth chain.

66

Of the total number of egos engaged in this evolution about

60,000 million-it is expected that about one-fifth will attain

the Asekha level before the end of the seventh round. Another

fifth will by that time have gained the Arhat level; a third

fifth will be on the lowest stages of the Path; the remaining

two-fifths will have dropped out at the Great Separation in the

middle of the fifth round.

Diagram XXVI illustrates both the great ”separation” in the

middle of the fifth round and also the distribution of human

entities at the end of the chain.

In the diagram, those who attained Adeptship in rounds

earlier than the seventh, are shown as reaching to some level

higher than that of the Asekha Initiation, because, in a11

probability, they will have taken further Initiations by the time

the chain is completed, and the diagram is intended to show the

distribution at the end of the chain.

A similar phenomenon of a ”Judgement Day,” as was mentioned

before, took place with regard to animals entering the human

kingdom: this occurred in the middle of the fourth round of our

present chain-the midmost point of our whole Scheme of Evolution,

when the ”door was shut,” to use the commonly accepted phrase,

67

against the animal kingdom joining the human kingdom. After this

”no more Monads can enter the human kingdom. The door is closed

for this cycle” ( The Secret Doctrine, I, 205). In this case, as

in other Judgement Days, the statement must not be interpreted in

too hard and fast a manner; for here and there an animal, by very

special help, may still be evolved to a point where human

incarnation is possible for it, but in almost all cases no human

body can be found of sufficiently low development for its

embodiment.

The door against further immigration into the human kingdom

from the animal was shut only when no more were in sight, or

would be capable of reaching it without a repetition of the

tremendous impulse given only once in the evolution of the

Scheme, at its midmost point. This tremendous impulse was given

by the descent of the Lords of the Flame from Venus, and will be

described in a later chapter.

An interesting point may be noted here. It seems as though

the humanity of a chain can advance towards and enter the Path

only when the individualising of animals on that chain has

practically ceased, and when only exceptional cases of

individualisation will occur in the future. When the door of the

human kingdom is shut against animals, then the door to the Path

is opened to humanity.

The great body of our present animal life-stream, as

previously explained, will arrive at individualisation only

towards the end of the seventh round of our present chain, and

will therefore form the humanity of the next or fifth chain. But

occasionally an animal, usually closely associated with humanity

and specially developed in affection and intelligence, may be

fortunate enough to attain individualisation in the present

world-period. Such an animal may be accommodated with a primitive

human body at the commencement of the occupation by our life-

stream of the next planet-Mercury-in our present chain. It is

obvious that very few indeed will be able to take advantage of

this, which, so far as can be seen, will be the final opportunity

of entering the human kingdom in the life of this chain.

A case is known where an animal, unusually intelligent and

very devoted to his human friend, and also capable of travelling

when asleep in his astral body to visit his master, could have

been almost immediately incarnated in this world, were it not for

certain difficulties which arose. The animal would have been, in

many ways, a primitive savage, and yet could have been incarnated

only in immediate personal relation to his master, for whom his

attachment was so strong that it would have been impossible to

keep him away from him. Even this difficulty might have been

overcome, but for the fact that it was impossible to guarantee

the sex of the savage.

The phrase as to ”shutting the door” applies only to those

animals who are coming up into the human kingdom in the present

globe-period, and not to those whose causal bodies which, though

primitive, are already formed. Thus the anthropoid apes, of whom

H. P. Blavatsky spoke as still admissible to human bodies, belong

to the animal kingdom of the Moon Chain, not to that of the

Earth. They took up bodies produced by what is known as the ”sin

of the mindless” (which will be explained in a later chapter),

and are the gorillas, chimpanzees, orang-outangs, baboons and

68

gibbons. They might be looked for in Africa, and might incarnate

there in the still existing very low human races of the Lemurian

type.

It seems probable that the principle underlying the

”separation,” i.e., the temporary suspension of entities unfit to

advance side by side with the more advanced members of the same

kingdom or life-stream, is applicable in many ways other than

that already described.

In The Theosophist for July, August and September, 1916, Mr.

G. E. Sutcliffe works out the idea with great lucidity and

acumen, and in a most interesting manner. He points out that, in

accordance with the rule, so widely applicable in occultism, the

rule of correspondences, ”as above, so below; as within, so

without,” there should be corresponding ”Judgement Days” in each

portion of the cycles and sub-cycles of our evolution.

Thus, as the separation in the middle of the fifth round

rejects those unfit for the chain, there should be a separation

of the Second Order in the middle of every fifth globe-period,

rejecting those unfit for the remainder of the round; a

separation of the Third Order, in the middle of every fifth Root-

Race, suspending those unfit for the remainder of the globe-

period; and a separation of the Fourth Order, in the middle of

every fifth sub-race, rejecting those unfit for the remainder of

the Root-Race.

Putting these conclusions to the test of observation, we

know that the great catastrophe, which destroyed Atlantis in

75,025 B.C., must have occurred about the middle of the fifth

sub-race of the fourth Root-Race, and was therefore a ”Judgement

Day” of the fourth order, rejecting those unfit to continue with

the remainder of the fourth Root-Race.

Similarly, it is possible that the recent Great War (which,

incidentally, some people think is not yet finished), and which

affected mainly the fifth Root-Race, but only incidentally the

fifth sub-race, is a ”Judgement Day” of the third order, in which

the unfit are suspended for the remainder of the globe-period.

If this hypothesis be correct, then those unfit for the remainder

of the globe-period will be deferred, and continue their

evolution on Mars, thus joining the Inner Round in the reverse

direction, as explained in a previous chapter.

This theory receives support from the following statement:

”. . . some of the quite irredeemable people, who are

participating in this great struggle [the War] will be thrown out

and will pass into Avîchi, to wait there until some future planet

is evolved, when they will again begin their evolution.”

The magnitude of the crisis, of which the War was, if not

the whole, certainly a part, is indicated by the following: ”The

War will become a swift and certain way of accomplishing in a few

years the work of centuries, of ensuring an unexampled progress

towards a nobler and better civilisation.” Also: ”I have recently

laid much stress on our urgent duty to give to the Hierarchy the

co-operation for which that Hierarchy is asking, it being the

first time in the history of evolution that They can attain Their

object, without destroying the whole civilisation as They did in

Atlantis, and on a smaller scale in Rome” (Dr. Annie Besant).

It further appears that the conditions now obtaining on Mars

(with which we shall deal more specifically in a later chapter)

69

are such as to be eminently suited to the evolution of those who,

owing to their ”scientific materialism,” we may, without

presumption” conceive to be unfit to continue side by side with

the less materially-minded population of the earth during the

remainder of the fifth Root-Race, and the coming sixth and

seventh Root-Races.

Mr. Sutcliffe's theory is, as said, on the face of it

eminently reasonable, and seems to be borne out by two facts of

observed history. We may, therefore, adopt it, at least

provisionally, and make some attempt to illustrate the method of

its working in a diagram.

Let us first tabulate our data thus:

”DAYS OF JUDGEMENT” OR SEPARATIONS

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Order ³ occurs in the middle of ³ rejecting those unfit ³ which entities will resume ³ ³ for the remainder of ³ their evolution in

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

³ ³ ³

First ³ the fifth round ³ the chain ³ the next chain

Second ³ the fifth globe-period ³ the round ³ the next round

Third ³ the fifth root-race ³ the globe-period ³ the next globe-period

Fourth ³ the fifth sub-race ³ the root-race ³ the next root-race

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

In the diagrams which follow,

Root-Races are shown as rectangles, and

may be considered as composed of seven

vertical strips, representing the sub-

races. The effects of the four orders

of Judgement Days are shown by removing

pieces from the lower right-hand

portions of the rectangles. Diagram

XXVII shows the effect of a Judgement

Day of the Fourth Order, rejecting

those unfit to continue with the

remainder of the Root-Race.

Diagram XXVIII shows the effect of

a Judgement Day of the Third Order,

rejecting those unfit to continue through the remainder of the

globe-period. It will be observed that, from the middle of the

fifth globe-period, the two Orders of Judgement Day are

superimposed on one another.

Diagram XXIX shows the effect of a Judgement Day of the

Second Order, when those are rejected who are unfitted for the

remainder of the round. The drawing shows also the effects of the

Judgement Days of the Fourth and Third Orders.

70

The effects of all four Orders of Judgement Days are shown

in Diagram XXX.

The curious may note that the total number of Judgement

Days, of the four Orders, in our whole chain, is exactly 400, all

of which are shown on Diagram XXX.

The underlying idea of the whole process is that, in any

given period, the number of entities who are fit to continue to

the end of that period is appreciably reduced by successive

applications of Judgement Days of four grades; hence the number

of entities who are able to complete the whole chain is very

substantially less than the number who entered the chain at its

commencement. In the middle of the fifth round it is reduced from

IOO per cent. to 60 per cent.; on top of this reduction there

will be further reductions owing to the application of

separations of the Second, Third and Fourth Orders.

The ”Day of Judgement” of the Moon Chain is stated to have

occurred in the sixth round, on the fourth globe-the Moon itself.

According to our rule, this should have taken place in the fifth

round. It may be, therefore, that our generalised rule is

incorrect; or there may have been something exceptional in this

case; or, possibly, the Judgement Day is a process which extends

over a considerable period, and this may perhaps have been the

final portion of it, occurring a whole round after its

commencement.

However that may be, a whole race of savages were

71

exterminated by war, being incapable of advancing further on the

Moon Chain, bodies suitable for their low state of evolution

being no longer available. As they died, or were killed, they

were not re-born, but passed into a condition of sleep. Many

bodies of similar low types were annihilated by seismic

catastrophes which laid whole districts waste, and the population

of the globe was very much diminished. From that time forward

all. was directed to pressing forward as rapidly as possible

those who remained, preparing them for evolution on the next

chain-the Earth Chain; the hopeless ”laggards,” having been

dropped, growth thereafter was steady and more rapid than before.

The suggestion that the Day of Judgement for a chain is a

process extending over a considerable period seems to be

supported by the statement that, in the seventh round of the Moon

Chain, from each globe, those of the inhabitants for whom the

conditions of the subsequent globes were not suitable, dropped

out, remaining quiescent until the next chain was ready for them

to resume their evolution.

Another apparent exception to the general rule is that, in

the first chain, no failures were seen dropping out of its

evolution. If it had a Day of Judgement, investigation did not

observe it. There is, however, another explanation, which some

students may consider preferable. The following table sets out

this theory without need of further explanation:

³

Number of chain ³ Judgement Day (First Order)

³

³

I ³ Nil (a)

II ³ Round 7

III ³ Round 6

IV ³ Round 5 (a)

V ³ Round 4 (a)

VI ³ Round 3

VII ³ Round 2

³

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

The three items marked (a) are known to be in accordance

with facts, and it therefore may well be that this theory, for

which I am grateful to an ingenious friend, is the correct one.

If it is correct, then, whilst the main principle remains the

same, substantial modifications would be needed in Diagram XXX,

to make it accurate.

72

CHAPTER XIV

INVOLUTION AND EVOLUTION

THROUGHOUT every phase of our System there is a fundamental

principle, which is repeated over and over again, at many

different levels. This principle should be clearly grasped,

because it is the Ariadne clue to the whole labyrinth. It

comprises the seven great stages of Involution and Evolution.

During three stages the Spirit descends into Matter: the Life is

involved in Form; the fourth stage is that of conflict between

Spirit and Matter, between Life and Form; during the three

remaining stages the Spirit ascends: Life evolves through and out

of Form.

During its descent, Spirit may be conceived as brooding over

Matter, imparting qualities, giving to Matter powers and

attributes. The fourth stage stands alone; Matter, having

received or acquired various powers and attributes, comes into

manifold relations with the informing Spirit. This is the great

battle of the universe, the tremendous conflict between Spirit

and Matter, the battle of Kurukshetra, of the vast hosts of the

two opposing armies, as Hindu scriptures describe the process.

In this part of the Field is the point of balance. The

Spirit, coming into innumerable relations with Matter, is at

first overpowered; then comes the point of balance, when neither

has the advantage over the other. Then slowly the Spirit begins

to triumph over Matter, so that, at the end of the fourth stage,

Spirit is the master of Matter, and is ready for the ascent

through the three stages that complete the seven.

During the last three stages, the Spirit organises the

Matter which he has mastered and ensouled, and turns it to his

own purposes, shapes it for his own expression, so that Matter

may become the means whereby all the powers of the Spirit shall

be made manifest and active, being shaped into the perfect

vehicle which the Spirit needs in order to manifest himself

perfectly.

During the descent of Spirit, often called the down-ward

arc, there is not only a tendency towards greater materiality,

the Spirit involving itself in Matter in order to learn to

73

receive impressions through it, but there is also a tendency

towards differentiation, the stream of Divine Life dividing and

sub-dividing itself into an ever-increasing number of streamlets

and units of consciousness.

During the earlier part of the ascent of Spirit, the upward

arc, during which the Spirit is learning to dominate Matter and

to see it as an expression of itself, the tendency is still

towards greater differentiation, but at the same time towards

spiritualisation and escape from materiality.

During the later part of the upward arc, when

differentiation has been finally accomplished by the division of

the Divine Life into separate human entities, the tendency is

towards unity, as well as towards greater spirituality. In this

stage the Spirit, having learnt perfectly how to receive

impressions through matter, and how to express itself through it,

and having awakened its dormant powers, learns to use these

powers rightly in the service of the Deity, or Logos. Diagram

XXXI illustrates the process.

This principle, as said, is repeated over and over again, at many

levels. It may be seen in operation in successive Chains, Rounds,

Globes, Races, and Sub Races, and careful research would probably

reveal many other examples of its application.

Thus, as the student will have observed, the seven Planetary

Chains of a Scheme of Evolution follow the process of descent and

ascent through the grades of matter, or planes ( vide Diagram V,

p. 7).

In the case of the Globes of any particular Chain, a glance

at Diagrams III and V, pp. 12, 16, shows that the Globes of each

Chain descend and ascend again in degree of materiality.

The three pairs of Globes, A and G, B and F, C and E, in any

Chain, are closely allied; but the one may be regarded as the

rough sketch, the other as the finished picture.

The first globe, Globe A, may be regarded as the root or

seed of the Chain, the last globe, Globe G, as the flower or

fruit of the Chain. Hence Globe A is sometimes spoken of as the

root-world; Globe G, similarly, is sometimes called the seed-

world because, though it produces the fruit or final product of

its own Chain, it also provides the seed for the following Chain.

In the first three globes of a Chain forms are evolved; in

the fourth globe the gulf is spanned between the forms and over-

brooding spirits, and the forms become ensouled; in the later

three globes, the spirits shape the forms to their will.

Globe A of a Chain is sometimes called also the archetypal

globe, because it contains the archetypes of the forms to be

produced in the round. But, as H. P. Blavatsky says: ”the word”

archetypal, must not be taken here in the sense that the

Platonists gave to it, i.e., the world as it existed in the mind

of the Deity; but in that of a world made as a first model, to be

followed and improved upon by the worlds which succeed it

physically” ( The Secret Doctrine, I, 221, note).

When we come to consider more in detail the Races and Sub-

Races, we shall find precisely the same principle in operation.

74

In our Scheme of Evolution, we are at present just past the

middle point. The central point of the whole Scheme would clearly

be in the Fourth Chain, Fourth Round, Fourth Globe, Fourth Root-

Race. Hence the actual middle point fell in the time of the last

great Root-Race, the Atlantean. As the Âryan race, the latest to

appear on this Globe, is the Fifth Root-Race of the Fourth Globe,

the human race as a whole is very little more than half way

through its evolution, measuring this purely arithemetically in

terms of the stages through which it has to pass. With the

question of the length of time taken by these various stages we

shall deal a little later.

Our Chain, being the fourth, is the Chain of struggle, of

balance, the Chain in which Spirit and Matter are to be

interlinked and interwoven, so that the highest and the lowest,

the two poles of nature, shall join in one complex being, Man -

Man being the startingpoint for the higher evolution.

Moreover, as we have just seen, we are now on the Fourth

Globe, so that we are at the very centre of the struggle, at the

point of keenest combat and of greatest difficulty, truly on the

planetary Kurukshetra. Here, on the Fourth Globe of the Fourth

Chain in the Fourth Round, must be waged the greatest conflict of

Spirit and Matter, to end in the triumph of Spirit.

We may note also that there is another cyclic process at

work in the evolution of the seven kingdoms through the rounds of

a chain. Each round evolves one kingdom to the highest perfection

of its own type; future types, not belonging to that round, are

of course present, but more or less embryonic, compared with

their future development in succeeding rounds. Thus, in our

chain, the kingdoms will be perfected as follows:

Round I-First Elemental Kingdom.

Round II-Second Elemental Kingdom.

Round III-Third Elemental Kingdom.

Round IV-Mineral Kingdom (our present round).

Round V-Vegetable Kingdom.

Round VI-Animal Kingdom.

Round VII-Human Kingdom.

Amplifying this a little, we may say that, in the first

round, on Globe A the Builders give the seven archetypal forms

for each kingdom. On Globe B they multiply forms containing the

essentials of each archetype; on C they densify these forms; on D

they shape them in still denser matter; on E they make them more

complex and slightly refine them; on F they build them of finer

matter; on G they finally perfect them.

This is the method of their work on every round, though on

the first round only do they gather the matter round themselves,

and dwell in it awhile to assimilate it. In this work they use

only the four upper sub-planes of the matter of each plane.

We shall deal with the above process, in rather more detail,

when we come to describe the Earth Chain, round by round, globe

by globe.

75

Another complication is due to the fact that in each round

an additional force is poured into the atoms, bringing an

additional spirilla in the atoms into activity. Thus in

Round I-One spirilla becomes active.

Round II-Two spirillæ become active.

Round III-Three spirillæ become active. and so on. We, being

in Round IV, have four sets of spirillæ active.

Also, each round appears, in the case of humanity, to be

especially devoted to the cultivation of a certain principle. The

present (fourth) round, for example, should be devoted chiefly to

the cultivation of kâma, emotion and desire, and the next, the

fifth, to intellectual advancement. This general rule, however,

seems to have been modified in the present instance, because,

owing to the coming of the Lords of the Flame (as will be

explained more fully in a later chapter) we are a long way in

advance of the programme marked out for us, and are already

engaged in the unfolding of the intellect. At the same time it

must be said that the intellect we now have is infinitesimal

compared with what the average man will possess at the

culminating point of the next or fifth round.

Yet another important principle must be taken into account.

In each sub-plane there are seven sub-divisions; now the body of

a man, whilst containing matter of all the sub-planes and all the

subdivisions, will show activity only in the sub-divisions

corresponding to the number of chains or rounds experienced, or

being experienced.

Thus, in the second chain, second round, a man will be able

to use in his astral and mental bodies only the first and second

sub-divisions of each sub-plane of astral and mental matter. In

the third round he will be able to use the first, second and

third, though not so fully in the case of the third as he will do

in the third round of the third chain, and so on.

In the Earth chain, the fourth, in the second round, man was

working with the first and second subdivisions of each sub-plane,

and feebly in the third and fourth. Not until the seventh Race of

the seventh round will he possess the splendid body in which

every particle will thrill responsive to himself, and even then

not as perfectly as in later chains.

The present writer regrets that he is unable to construct a

diagram illustrating the above process, as the data do not appear

to be sufficiently detailed. For the present, therefore, we must

content ourselves with the general principle that, in the course

of evolution, man takes up the various sub-divisions of each sub-

plane progressively, and becomes able to express himself through

them in steadily increasing measure.

Further, the matter of any given sub-plane, say the second,

appears to be taken into use to a certain standard of perfection,

which is presumably a progressively higher standard, in the

second round of each chain, and in the second chain itself as a

whole.

76

CHAPTER XV

TIMES AND DATES

VERY little information is available regarding the times occupied

by Chains, Rounds, Globe-periods, or even Races. Hence it is at

present scarcely practicable to attempt even to estimate the

exact lengths of these enormous expanses of time.

In exoteric Hindu books definite numbers are given, but H.

P. Blavatsky states that it is impossible to rely fully on these,

because there are involved other and esoteric considerations,

which the writers do not take into account.

Whilst there is no direct information upon the point, there

is yet some reason to suspect that the time of the Rounds is not

an invariable quantity, but that some are shorter than others. It

has been thought that those in front of us will probably not be

so long as those through which we have already passed. But here

again we have no certain information, and it seems useless, with

so little data before us, to speculate.

We may, however, note in this connection, as possibly

throwing some light on the question of the times spent in the

earlier and in later portions of evolution, that investigations

have shown that whilst the earlier radical changes in the

constitution of man extended over vast periods of time, the later

changes connected with the development of civilisations passed

much more rapidly; where developments of civilisations take

thousands of years, the earlier and more radical changes occupied

actually millions.

For the present we can do little more than enumerate the few

statements made by various authorities, and this we shall now

proceed to do. According to occult records, the solar system has

a life stretching behind it for some 1,955,884,703 years - say,

rather less than 2,000 million years.

300 million years are said to have passed away in this

Fourth Round, on Globe D (the Earth). The Lords of Venus came to

the Earth some 16½ million years ago.

The separation of the sexes, in the middle of the Third

Root-Race (the Lemurian) took place some 16½ million years ago.

But that separation was a long process which extended over more

than a million years, and took place at different times in

different parts of the world.

About a million years is the period allowed for our present

Fifth Root-Race (the Âryan).

850,000 years have passed since the submersion of the last

large island, part of the continent of Atlantis, the Ruta of the

Fourth Root-Race, the Atlanteans.

The small island of Daitya was destroyed about 270,000 years

ago.

The catastrophe previous to the sinking of Poseidonis

commenced 75,025 B.C.

The sinking of Poseidonis took place in 9,564 B.C.

77

The Secret Doctrine gives the following:

Years

Krita Yuga (Age) . . . . 1,728,000

Tretâ Yuga . . . . 1,296,000

Dvâpara Yuga . . . . 864,000

Kâli Yuga. . . . . 432,000

_________

Total, making a Mahâ Yuga

(Great Age) . . . . 4,320,000

71

____________

71 Mahâ Yugas form the period of

reign of one Manu . . . 306,720,000

14

____________

The reign of 14 Manus embraces

the duration of 994 Mahâ Yugas,

or. . . . . . 4,294,080,000

Add Sandhis, i.e., intervals between

the reign of each Manu, which

amount to 6 Mahâ Yugas, or . 25,920,000

_______________

Total of reigns and interregnums of

I4 Manus is 1,0O0 Mahâ Yugas,

which constitute a Kalpa,

i.e., one Day of Brahmâ . . 4,320,000,000

Add one Night of Brahma . . . 4,320,000,000

________________

One Day and Night of Brahmâ . . 8,640,000,000

360

_________________

360 such Days and Nights make one

year of Brahmâ . . . . 3,11O,400,000,000

1OO

______________________

1OO such Years constitute the whole

period of Brahmâ's Age, i.e.,

one Mahâ Kalpa . . . 311,040,000,000,000

The above figures are said by H. P. Blavatsky to be

”exoteric” and ”accepted throughout India, and they dovetail

pretty nearly with those of the Secret Works. The latter,

moreover, amplify them by a division into a number of Esoteric

Cycles, never mentioned in Brâhmanical popular writings . .

[These], in their details, have of course never been made

public.”

At, the present time we are said to be at the very close of

78

the Âryan Kâli Yuga. The following tabular statement supplies a

condensed history of the animal and plant life on the earth,

bracketed - according to Haeckel - with the, contemporary rock

strata. Two other columns give the contemporary races of man, and

such of the great cataclysms as are known to occult students.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

³Depth of³ ³ ³ ³

Rock Strata ³Strata, ³ Races of Men ³ Cataclysms. ³ Animals. ³ Plants.

³ Feet ³ ³ ³ ³

³ ³ ³ ³

Laurentian Archilithic ³ ³First Root-Race ³ ³ Skull-less Ani- ³ Forest of gigantic Cambrian or ³ 70,000 ³which being astral³ ³ mals. ³ Tangles and other Silurian Primordial ³ ³could leave no ³ ³ ³ T h a l l u s Plants.

³ ³fossil remains. ³ ³ ³

³ ³ ³ ³ ³

³ ³ ³ ³ ³

³ ³ ³ ³ ³

Devonian Palæotic ³ ³Second Root-Race, ³ ³ Fish ³ Fern Forests.

Coal or ³ 42,000 ³which was etheric.³ ³ ³

Permiam Primary ³ ³ ³ ³ ³

³ ³ ³ ³ ³

³ ³ ³ ³ ³

Triassic Mesolithic ³ ³Third Root-Race, ³Lemuria is said to have per ³ Reptiles. ³ Pine and Palm Jurassic or ³ 15,000 ³or Lemurian ³ished before the beginning ³ ³ Forests.

Cretaceous Secondary ³ ³ ³of the Eocene age. ³ ³

³ ³ ³ ³ ³

³ ³ ³ ³ ³

Eocene Cenolithic ³ ³Fourth Root-Race, ³The main Continent of Atl- ³ Mammals. ³ Forests of Deciduous Miocene or ³ 5,000 ³or Atlantean. ³antis was destroyed in the ³ ³ Trees.

Pliocene Tertiary ³ ³ ³Miocene period, about ³ ³

³ ³ ³800,000 years ago. Third ³ ³

³ ³ ³great catastrophe about ³ ³

Diluvial or Quaternary ³ ³Fifth Root-Race, ³80,000 years ago. Final ³ More differen- ³ C u l t i v a t i d Pliestocene or ³ 500 ³or Âryan. ³submergence of Poseidonis ³ tiated Mammals. ³ Forests.

Alluvial Atthropolitic³ ³ ³9564 B.C. ³ ³

³ ³ ³ ³ ³

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

CHAPTER XVI

THE PLANETARY CHAIN LOGOI AND OTHER

HIGH OFFICIALS

THE SEVEN PLANETARY CHAIN LOGOI

WE saw in Chapter VII that the Solar Logos contains within

Himself seven Planetary Logoi, who are, as it were, centres of

force within Him, channels through which His force pours out. Yet

at the same time there is a sense in which they may be said to

constitute Him.

The Hindu speaks of them as the Seven Sons of Aditi-the eighth

was Mârttânda, the Sun itself, each Son, or Âditya, having his

own ”house.” They have been called also the Seven Spirits in the

Sun; in ancient Egypt they were termed the Seven Mystery Gods. In

the religion of Zoroaster they were the Seven Amshaspends. Among

the Jews, they are the Seven Sephiroth; among the Christians and

Muhammedans, they are the Seven Archangels.

Every religion points to them as standing round the manifested

Trinity of the Logos, forming the Viceroys, as it were, of

Îshvara in the vast empire of the Solar System, each with his own

kingdom, each administering his own department. In modern

Theosophy they are called the Seven Planetary Logoi, because they

have ever been identified with the seven sacred planets, which

are their physical bodies. With these planets, and their relation

to the Scheme of Evolution to which they belong, we have already

dealt in preceding chapters. Each of these Logoi thus has his own

house, and rules over his own kingdom, a definite department of

the Solar System.

The matter of the Solar System, which we have seen composes

the vehicles of the Solar Logos, also composes the vehicles of

the Planetary Logoi; for there is no particle of matter anywhere

in the System which is not part of one or other of them. This, of

course, is true of every plane; we may take the astral plane as

an example, because its matter is sufficiently fluid to answer

our purpose, and at the same time it is near enough to the

physical to be not entirely beyond the limits of our physical

comprehension.

Every particle of the astral matter of the System is, as we

have stated, not only part of the astral body of the Solar Logos,

but it is also part of the astral body of one or other of the

Seven Planetary Logoi. Hence in every man's astral body there are

particles belonging to each of the seven Planetary Logoi: but the

proportions vary infinitely. Each Monad originally came forth

through one Planetary Logos ( vide The Causal Body, p. 26) and he

will continue all through his evolution to have more of the

particles of that Logos than of any other; in this way people may

80

be distinguished as primarily belonging to one or other of these

seven great Powers.

In the Planetary Logoi certain psychic changes periodically

occur; possibly they correspond, on some infinitely higher level,

to in-breathing and out-breathing, or to the beating of the heart

with us down here on the physical plane. However that may be,

there seems to be an infinite number of possible permutations and

combinations of them.

Some of these periodic changes are more rapid than others, so

that a very complicated series of effects is produced. It has

been observed that a clue to the operation of these great cosmic

influences at any given moment is afforded by the movements of

the associated physical planets.

Now since our astral bodies are built of the very matter of

their astral bodies, it follows that no one of these Planetary

Logoi can change astrally in any way without thereby affecting

the astral body of every man in the world, though of course more

especially those in whom there is a preponderance of the matter

expressing that particular Planetary Logos. Recollecting that the

same thing is true of all the other planes, we can realise how

important to us are the motions and changes of the Planetary

Logoi.

There are, in addition, other influences which affect the

matter of the planes and sub-planes, which we shall consider

further in our next section.

THE LIPIKA AND THE DEVARÂJAS

P. Blavatsky writes of a certain order of supernal Beings

whom she calls the Lipika, or Lords of Karma. We are further told

that in the administration of karma their agents are the four (in

reality seven) Devarâjas or Regents of the Earth.

Each of these is at the head of a certain vast group of

devas and nature-spirits, and even of elemental essence. For

purposes of explanation let us take one plane only, the astral,

bearing in mind that precisely similar considerations apply to

all the other planes as well. Now astral matter as a whole is

especially under the control of one of these Devarâjas, but, as

the astral plane is the sixth of our seven planes, so the sixth

sub-plane of every plane is also to a certain extent under the

direction of the same Devarâja, because that sub-plane bears the

same relation to the plane of which it is a part as the astral

plane as a whole does to the set of seven planes. Hence for every

sub-plane there are two influences-the influence of the ruler of

the whole plane, and the sub-influence of the ruler of the sub-

plane.

But we saw in the preceding section that the matter of every

plane and sub-plane is especially affected by one or other of the

seven Planetary Logoi. Hence any particular portion of matter is

subjected to three distinct influences: (1) one of the seven

Planetary Logoi; (2) the Devarâja of the plane as a whole; (3)

the Devarâja of the sub-plane to which that portion of matter

81

belongs.

It is clear from the above that a very large number of

distinctly marked varieties of matter exist on every plane, so

that, even taking no account of the further sub-divisions of

matter (which also exist), we have the possibility of an almost

infinite number of combinations of matter, out of which the

various bodies of man are constructed. Hence, incidentally,

whatever may be the characteristics of any given ego, he is

always able to find an adequate expression of himself.

Diagram XXXII shows the matter of one plane only, the sixth

or astral plane, as affected by the three influences named.

First, we have what is often described as the vertical

influences of the seven Planets, dividing the matter of the whole

plane into seven types, rays or ”colours.”

Second, we have the horizontal influence of the sixth

Devarâja, ruling the plane as a whole. In the diagram this is

indicated by the shading of Devarâja No. 6 and by corresponding

shading over the whole astral plane.

Third, we have the influence of the sixth Devarâja again

affecting more especially the sixth sub-plane. This is indicated

by the double shading of the sixth sub-plane, showing that this

sub-plane is subject to a double influence from the sixth

Devarâja. Similar considerations apply of course to each of the

other six planes.

Diagram XXXIII is an attempt to illustrate the three

influences affecting the whole of the seven planes and their sub-

planes. For diagrammatic purposes, however, it was found

necessary to show the two influences from the Devarajas as coming

from two directions, the fact that these come in reality from the

same source being indicated by the dotted lines joining the two

sources shown in the diagram.

82

We thus see that the matter of, for example, the first sub-

plane of the first plane is subjected to a double influence of

the same kind, just as the matter of the second sub-plane of the

second plane is subjected to a double influence of another kind;

and so on with the other sub-planes. There will, therefore, be

something distinctive about the first sub-plane matter of the

first plane, the second sub-plane matter of the second plane, the

third sub-plane matter of the third plane, and so on: though what

this distinctive characteristic is, is not (so far as the present

writer is aware) yet known. For the present we merely draw

attention to the point by shading the sub-planes which are

subjected to the double influence.

The changes in the consciousness of the Planetary Spirits

are visible in the long history of human races as regular cyclic

changes in the temperament of the people and the consequent

character of their civilisation. Thus in a given Root-Race the

Seven Rays are preponderant in turn-perhaps more than once-but in

the period of that dominance of each Ray there will be seven sub-

cycles of influence. For example, whilst the Fifth Ray is ruling

in the history of a Race, the central idea of that Ray, and

probably a religion founded on it, will be prominent in the minds

of men; but that time of predominance will be subdivided into

seven periods, the first coloured by the idea of the First Ray,

the second by that of the Second Ray, and so on. In the fifth

subdivision the influence of the Fifth Ray will of course be at

83

its purest and strongest. It is possible that these divisions and

sub-divisions may correspond with sub-races and nations, but this

correspondence has not been actually traced out as yet.

THE STAFF

Just as every general officer has, quite apart from the

regular officers who hold various commands under him, a special

set of officers who form his staff, whose duty it is to be in

personal attendance upon him, and to be ready at any moment to do

anything that he may require, or to fill any vacancy that may

occur, so the Solar Logos also has His staff-a number of Adepts

who are not in the service of any particular Chain, yet are ever

prepared to be sent to the aid of any that need assistance.

Members of the staff thus give themselves to the immediate

service of the Logos, to be used by Him in any part of the Solar

System, His servants and messengers, living but to carry out His

will and to do His work over the whole System which He rules.

To join the staff is one of the seven possibilities open to

a man who has ”reached the further shore.” It seems to be

considered a very hard path, perhaps the greatest sacrifice open

to the Adept, and is therefore regarded as carrying with it great

distinction.

A member of the General Staff has no physical body, but

makes one for himself by Kriyâshakti-the ”power to make”-of the

matter of the globe to which he is sent. The Staff contains

beings at very different levels, from that of Arhatship upwards.

There are some who dedicated themselves to it on reaching

Arhatship in the Moon Chain; others who are Asekha Adepts

(Masters); others who have passed far beyond that stage in human

evolution.

The need for the provision of such a Staff arises probably,

among many other reasons unknown to us, from the fact that in the

very early stages of a Chain-especially of one on the downward

arc-or even of a globe, more help from outside is needed than is

required later. Thus, for example, on the First Chain of our

Scheme, the attainment of the First Initiation being the

appointed level of achievement, none of its humanity reached the

Asekha level, much less Buddhahood-which, of course, is much

further on. Consequently the office of the Buddha and other high

offices had to be filled by entities from outside the Earth

Scheme. Later Chains also were helped in a similar way.

The Earth Chain itself will in due course have to provide high

Officials for the earlier Chains of other Schemes, as well, of

course, as yielding the normal supply for its own later Globes

and Rounds. In fact, from the Earth Occult Hierarchy two members

already , within our own knowledge, have left the Earth, either

to join the General Staff, or lent by the Head of the Earth

Hierarchy to the Head of the Hierarchy of some other Globe

outside the Earth Scheme.

84

CHAPTER XVII

MANUS

THE word Manu is a generic term used for a class of directing

Intelligences of many different grades or ranks. Thus the Manu

who presides over the evolution of seven successive Chains is the

Manu of a Scheme of Evolution, though He is usually spoken of as

the Planetary Chain Logos. The term is not a very accurate one;

because it seems to imply that He is in charge of one Chain,

whereas He has in His charge seven Chains. A more accurate term

would be the Logos of a Scheme of Evolution, but, as said, the

name that is generally employed is that of Planetary Logos, or

Planetary Chain Logos.

Working under the Planetary Chain Logos is a Manu who has in

his charge the development of one planetary Chain. Him we may

term the Manu of a Chain, or simply a Chain Manu.

Under Him again there is a Manu responsible for the

evolution of one Round, and He is known as a Round Manu.

Working under His orders there is another grade of Manu in

charge of a Globe-Period, which, of course, includes the seven

Root-Races. He may be termed the Manu of a Globe-Period or World-

Period.

Once again, under His direction there is a separate Manu in

charge of each Root-Race: He is usually called a Race Manu, or

Manu of a Root-Race.

Each of these Manus takes charge of the department of

evolution allotted to Him, superintending its formation and

growth.

The Sanskrit word manvantara means literally the period

between two Manus: hence it may be applied at many levels. It is

customary, however, to confine the term manvantara to the

duration of one Chain, i.e., the time taken for the streams of

life to pass seven times round the seven globes.

To the greater period of seven successive Chains, i.e., to a

Scheme of Evolution, the term mahâman-vantara is applied.

Mahâmanvantara means simply great manvantara.

If the reader will refer to Diagram XXI on page 58, he will

observe that each of the units there shown, from the largest

circle at the head down to the rectangles representing Root-

Races, may be considered to represent also the Manu or Official

in charge of those units.

We may now consider a little more fully some of the many

functions pertaining to the offices enumerated.

It appears that, in the Seventh Round of a Chain, the Being,

to whom has been given the title of ”Seed-Manu,” of the Chain,

takes into His charge the humanity and lower classes of living

beings which have been evolving in that Chain. The present writer

has been unable to ascertain whether the Seed-Manu is the same as

the Chain Manu, or a separate Official. However that may be, we

85

are here evidently dealing with a specific function, and if we

keep that in mind, it does not seem of much moment whether this

function is performed by the Chain Manu or by a separate Seed-

Manu.

The Seed-Manu, then, gathers up into Himself, at the

conclusion of a Chain, all the results of evolution on that

Chain, transports them into the Inter-Chain sphere, the Nirvana

for the inhabitants of the dying Chain, nourishes them with in

Himself, and finally hands them over at the appointed time to the

Root-Manu of the next Chain. Again, the present writer is not

quite clear whether the Root-Manu is the same as the Chain Manu

or a separate Entity. We shall, therefore, continue to use the

word Root-Manu to describe the function, no matter by Whom that

function is performed.

The Root-Manu, receiving the products of evolution from the

Chain just concluded, follows out the plan of the Seed-Manu,

determining the times and places for introducing the various

classes of entities into His kingdom in the succeeding Chain.’

The function of the Seed-Manu, therefore, is to direct all

the preparations for the transfer of the huge population from one

Chain to the next Chain; that of the Root-Manu is to make all

arrangements for the reception of that population, and to

introduce the many classes of entities into His Chain in the

proper sequence and at the proper times.

The following is an example of the work of a Seed-Manu. The

Seed-Manu of the Moon Chain appeared to have a vast plan,

according to which He grouped the entities from the Moon Chain,

dividing them, after their last deaths, into classes, sub-

classes, and sub-sub-classes, in a quite definite way, apparently

by some kind of magnetisation. This set up particular rates of

vibration, and the people who could work best at one such rate

were grouped together, and those who worked best at another rate

were similarly grouped, and so on. These groups appeared to form

themselves automatically in the heaven-world, much as fine dust

will form itself into figures on a vibrating disc under the

impact of a musical note.

In this gigantic task the Seed-Manu was aided by many great

Beings, who obeyed His directions, the whole vast plan being

carried out with an order and an inevitableness unspeakably

impressive.

The results of the preceding Chain are thus gathered up

within the aura of the Seed-Manu, and are arranged, tabulated,

filed-if one may use such terms-in perfect order. Upon these

intelligences, of many grades, inward-turned, living a strange

slow subjective life, without idea of time, the Seed-Manu pours

intermittent streams of His stimulating magnetism. A continuous

stream would break them into pieces, so it plays on them and then

stops, and they doze on for perhaps a million years, slowly

assimilating it; then another stream plays on them, and so on and

on, for millions upon millions of years. To those who were able

to watch that strange scene, many analogies occurred: bulbs laid

carefully on shelves, inspected from time to time by a gardener;

86

cots in a hospital, visited day by day by a physician. Eventually

the time will come when the great Gardener will give out His

bulbs for the planting, the planting ground being the next

Chain, and the bulbs living souls.

The work of a Manu, bearing groups of entities from one

Chain, Round, etc., to the succeeding Chain, Round, etc., reminds

us of the stories in the Hindu Purânas of the Manu crossing the

ocean in a ship, bearing with Him the seeds of a new world, and

of the Hebrew records of Noah, preserving in an ark all that was

needed to repopulate the earth after a flood. The legends

preserved in the Scriptures of religions are often based on true

happenings in the occult world.

In bringing over from the Moon Chain to the Earth Chain a

class of human beings with ”basket-work” causal bodies, an

interesting point was noted. (N B.- A basket-work causal body is

one which is not fully formed, but consists of lines of matter

somewhat resembling a basket, hence the name. Vide The Causal

Body, p. 85.)

The ”shelves” on which the ”bulbs” were stored were clearly

of higher mental matter; but, as there is no continuity of

mental matter between Chains, the bulbs brought over in the

Seed-Manu's aura were brought through a higher plane-the

buddhic-and so the basket-work of the Moon mental matter would be

disintegrated, and would have to be re-formed before the entities

concerned could begin their career on the Earth Chain. Thus,

having slept for ages in the buddhic world, they would be re-

clothed in basketwork of the equivalent Earth Chain matter.

The Seed-Manu appeared also to be choosing out the

Officials for the next Chain, those who, in the long course of

evolution, would pass ahead of their fellows and become Masters,

Manus, etc., in the various Rounds and Races. He evidently

selected many more than would be needed, just as a gardener

chooses out many plants for special culture, out of which a later

selection may be made. In the Moon Chain, most of this choosing

was done on Globe D-the Moon itself.

Enormous periods of time are occupied in the work between

Chains; so vast are they that the mind perforce takes refuge in

the idea that time has no fixed existence, but is long or short

according to the working of the consciousness of the being

concerned. In the Inter-Chain Nirvana the really working

consciousnesses are those of the Seed-Manu of the Chain just

completed and of the Root-Manu of the Chain which is to follow.

The Great Plan is in the mind of the Seed-Manu, and the

Root-Manu, as said, receives it from Him and works it out in the

new Chain over which He presides.

The Seed-Manu determines the contents of each group of

entities and the order of its dispatch to the new Chain; the

Root-Manu distributes the groups, or ”ship-loads”, as they are

sometimes called, as they arrive successively.

The Seed-Manu of the Moon Chain is Chakshushas; He is aided

by Officials who report to Him how the members of any special

division have responded to the Influences He has thrown upon them

87

during the Inter-Chain Nirvana.

The principle followed, in the dispatch of entities to the

new Chain, is that the least advanced in ”age,” or development,

are sent out first, in order to inhabit the most primitive forms;

the more advanced follow when the forms have evolved to a higher

state. Examples of the working of this principle will be given

later.

The Root-Manu of the Earth Chain is Vaivasvata; He must not

be confused with the Manu of the same name who is in charge of

the Fifth Root-Race and the wonderful Âryan civilisation. The

Root-Manu Vaivasvata directs the whole order of evolution in the

Earth Chain; He is a Being from the Fourth Chain of the Venus

Scheme of Evolution. Two of His Assistants came from the same

Chain, and a third is a high Adept who ”attained” early in the

Moon Chain. The Manu of the fourth Root-Race (the Atlantean) was

also an Adept from Venus. He is known as the Lord Chakshusha

Manu, is Chinese by birth, and of very high caste.

A Root-Manu of a Chain must achieve the level fixed for the

Chain or Chains on which He is human, and has become one of its

”Lords.” Then He becomes the Manu of a Race; then a Pratyeka

Buddha; then a Lord of the World; then the Root-Manu; then the

Seed-Manu of a Round, and only then the Root-Manu of a Chain. As

already explained, He directs the Manus of Rounds, who distribute

the work among the Manus of Races.

Furthermore, each Chain yields a number of successful human

beings, the ”Lords of the Chain,” some of whom devote Themselves

to the work of the new Chain, under its Root-Manu. Thus, for

example, there are for the Earth Chain seven classes of Lords of

the Moon, i.e., ”successes”, from the planets of the Moon Chain,

working under the Root-Manu of the Earth Chain.

Before the Manu of a Chain or of a Round commences the task

appointed for Him, He examines the part of the thought-form of

the Logos which refers to His work, and brings it down to some

level within easy reach for constant reference. The same thing is

done at a somewhat lower level by the Manu of each World or

Globe, and of each Root-Race.

Each Manu thus has before Him, at His own level, the model

towards which He has to build, and He endeavours to make His

World or His Race, as the case may be, as nearly as possible an

exact copy of what the Logos intended it to be. In view of the

fact that He has to build with existing materials, He can

usually approach the required perfection only by degrees; hence

the earlier efforts at the formation of a race, for example, are

often only partially successful.

To take a specific example, in the first Round of the Earth

Chain the Manu in charge brought down all the archetypes for the

whole of the Chain. Although many of these will not be fully

perfected down here until the seventh Round, the germs of all of

them were already present even in the first Round.

For every kingdom in nature He selected a certain set of

forms, which He wished to have vivified during the first Round,

with the view of developing from them at later stages everything

88

which the Logos wished the Earth Chain to produce.

The scheme of these forms, materialised down to a level

where they could use them, was handed over to certain of the

Lords of the Moon, who were entrusted with the work of setting

the activities of the first Chain in motion. They made these

forms in each of the seven Globes of that first Round and, as

they made them, the animal-men from the moon entered them,

solidified and used them, and from them generated others which

could be inhabited by the moon-animals which occupied the stages

below them. We shall deal with and explain ”animal-men,” ”moon-

animals,” etc., at a later stage of our study. For the moment we

may just note that these are names to designate classes of

entities at certain levels of development, as they left the Moon

Chain.

It should be noted that the Manu of the Root-Race starts and

sets the type not only of each Root-Race, but also of each sub-

race, by incarnating in it Himself.

89

CHAPTER XVIII

BUDDHAS, MAHÂCHOHANS AND BODHISATTVAS

We have seen that Manus are practically autocratic monarchs who

are concerned with the evolution of the different races of men.

They represent the ruling department, which guides all natural

evolution, changes the face of the surface of the globe, builds

and destroys continents, raises fresh races, controls the

destinies of nations, shapes the fate of civilisations, balances

up from time to time the great accounts between the races and the

nations, and rules the outer destinies of men.

Another great department is that of religion and education,

and it is from this that all the greatest teachers have come, and

that all religions have been sent forth. The Official at the head

of this department, with a rank two grades above that of Master

or Asekha Adept, is variously known as the Bodhisattva, the Jagat

Gurû, the World Teacher, the Christ. He watches over the

spiritual destinies of mankind. He either comes Himself or sends

one of His pupils to found a new religion when He decides that

one is needed. His benediction flows over the whole of the living

religions of the time; and may be regarded as a kind of steady

pressure, so that the power employed will flow as though

automatically into every channel anywhere and of any sort which

is open to its passage. He thus works simultaneously through

every religion, utilising all that is good in the way of devotion

and self-sacrifice in each. In addition, He appoints one Master

or another as the special guide and protector of a special

religion.

For each Root-Race there is a Manu and a Bodhisattva, and

these are respectively the brain and the heart of the Heavenly

Man who emerges as the result of the evolution of each Root-Race.

In the Heavenly Man, as in the man on earth, there are seven

centres, and each of these centres is represented by an official

of the Occult Hierarchy. The Heavenly Men so formed are the true

inhabitants of the solar system, the mind-born sons of the

Planetary Logoi, destined themselves to be the Planetary Logoi of

the future; of them we shall be living conscious component parts,

each nevertheless having the fullest liberty and the highest

possible activity.

In addition to the Manu and the Bodhisattva of a Root-Race,

there is also another Official, Who stands at the same level,

known as the Mahâchohan. He it is Who directs the minds of men

so that the different forms of culture and civilisation shall be

unfolded according to the cyclic plan. The Manu is spoken of as

the Head, the Bodhisattva as the Heart, and the Mahâchohan as the

Hand or the five Fingers; all are active in the world; moulding

the Race into one organic being, the Heavenly Man, as it is

called.

The Manu follows the line of the First Ray, the Bodhisattva

that of the Second Ray, whilst the Mahâchohan stands at the head

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of the remaining five Rays.

The Bodhisattva of the past, who gave the earlier, religions

of the Fifth, or Aryan Root-Race, is now the Lord Buddha. Whilst

He was the World Teacher, He came to the first sub-race as Vyâsa,

and founded Hinduism, the religion of the Sun; He taught as

Thoth, known later as Hermes, in Egypt, founding the religion of

Light; He came as Zoroaster to Persia, 31.000 years ago,

proclaiming the religion of Fire; He came as Orpheus to Greece,

teaching by Music and Sound, and founding the Orphic Mysteries.

He came forth for the last time in Hindûstân; there to reach

the Illumination of the Buddha, and with Buddhism closed the

ancient cycle, leaving to His Successor the continuance of the

work of the World Teacher.

The deep reverence and the strong affection felt for the

Lord Gautama Buddha all over the East are due to two facts. One

of these is that He was the first of our humanity to attain the

stupendous height of Buddhahood, and so He may truly be described

as the first-fruits and the leader of our race. For all previous

Buddhas had belonged to other humanities, which had matured on

earlier chains.

The second fact is that for the sake of hastening the

progress of humanity, He took upon Himself certain additional

labours of the most stupendous character, the nature of which it

is impossible for us to comprehend.

The attainment of Buddhahood is not simply the gaining of

enlightenment; it is also the taking of a great and definite

Initiation; the man who has taken that step cannot again

incarnate upon earth, but hands over His work to His successor,

and usually passes away altogether from any connection with

earth.

The Lord Gautama, however, still remains to a certain extent

within touch of the world. Once in each year, at the festival of

Wesak, at the first full moon in May, He still shows Himself to

the brotherhood of Adepts, and pours down His blessing upon them,

to be passed through them to the world at large. And He may still

be reached in certain ways by those who know how. A full account

of the Wesak ceremony is to be found in The Masters and the Path,

pp. 431-446.

The successor of the Lord Buddha, the present Bodhisattva,

is the Lord Maitreya, known to the West as the Christ. He came

first as Krishna in the Indian plains, and then to the fifth or

Teutonic sub-race of our present Root-Race as the Christ in

Palestine. He struck pre-eminently the notes of the value of the

individual, and of self-sacrifice. He is, so far as we know,

destined to appear again on earth and give religious teaching

suited to the particular needs of the sixth and of the seventh

sub-races of the fifth Root- Race. Then He will pass on and

become the Buddha of the sixth Root-Race.

The Manu and the Bodhisattva of the sixth Root-Race will be

the present Chohans Morya and Koot Hoomi respectively-the two

Chohans most intimately concerned with the foundation and the

work of the Theosophical Society.

91

The following is the list, so far as it is known; of the

Bodhisattvas and Buddhas of our evolution:

On Globe F of the Moon Chain, the Buddha was the Lord

Dipankara, who came from the fourth chain of the Venus Scheme,

and was a member of the General Staff. The list for the Earth

Chain, Fourth Round, Globe D (the Earth) is as follows:

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

³ ³

Root-Race. ³ Boddhisattva ³ Buddha

³ ³

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

³ ³

3 ³ The Lord Kashyapa ³ --

4 ³ The Lord Guatama ³ The Lord Kashyapa

5 ³ The Lord Maitreya ³ The Lord Guatama

6 ³ (Chohan) Koot Hoomi ³ The Lord Maitreya

7 ³ -- ³ (Chohan) Koot Hoomi

³ ³

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

A Buddha is an Official who superintends much more than a

humanity; He is the Teacher of Devas; or Angels, as well as of

men, so the fact that a given humanity may be at a very low stage

of evolution does not do away with the need for that high office.

He takes charge of the special work of the Second Ray for the

whole world, devoting Himself to that part of it which lies in

the higher worlds, while He entrusts to His assistant and

representative, the Bodhisattva, the office of, world Teacher for

the lower planes.

He who becomes a Buddha must, thousands of years beforehand,

have made his vow to a living Buddha, and it is said that from

that time onward the influence of the Buddha overshadows him, and

that when in due course he attains Buddhahood the great influence

of the spiritual Buddha hovers over the incarnate Buddha.

92

CHAPTER XIX

THE LORD OF THE WORLD AND HIS

ASSISTANTS

THERE is on our Earth Globe a great Official, known as the Lord

of the World, who represents the Solar Logos, and is in absolute

control of all the evolution that takes place upon this planet,

not only that of humanity and of the animal, vegetable, mineral

and elemental kingdoms, but also of the great non-human kingdoms

of the nature-spirits and the devas. He must not, of course, be

confused with the Spirit of the Earth, who uses the earth as a

physical body and who is a totally distinct entity, as will be

explained more fully in Chapter XXVI.

We may image the Lord of the World as the true KING of this

world, there being under Him ministers in charge of different

departments. He is known as Sanat Kumâra, the ”Youth of sixteen

summers,” the ”Eternal Virgin-Youth.” The word Kumâra is a title,

meaning Prince or Ruler. Together with others, whom we shall

mention presently, He came to the Earth Globe, from the Venus

Scheme of Evolution, in the middle of the Fourth (present) Round,

and in the middle of the Third Root-Race (the Lemurian). The

purpose of the coming was (1) to quicken mental evolution, (2) to

found the Occult Hierarchy of the Earth, (3) to take over the

government of the Earth Globe. With these several functions we

shall deal presently.

With Sanat Kumâra came three Kumâras, His Pupils, who serve

as his lieutenants or assistants. They stand at the level of the

Buddha, and are called Pratyeka or Pachcheka Buddhas, and are

themselves destined to be our three Lords of the World when

humanity is occupying the planet Mercury; for there are three

Lords of the World during each world-period. The present holder

of the office is already the third.

There were also some 25 or 30 other Adepts, in graded order,

together with about 1OO ordinary human beings who were in some

way affiliated to these Great Ones, or perhaps had been

individualised by Them, and who were merged in the ordinary

humanity of the earth.

Most of Them stayed on the earth only through the critical

period of our history (which will be explained presently); a few

still remain to hold the highest offices of the Great White

Brotherhood, until the time when men of our own evolution shall

have risen to such height as to be capable of relieving their

august visitors.

As the Catechism of the Inner Schools says: ”Out of the

seven Virgin-Men (Kumâra) four sacrificed themselves for the sins

of the world and the instruction of the ignorant, to remain till

the end of the present Manvantara. Though unseen, they are ever

present. . . . These are the Head, the Heart, the Soul, and the

93

Seed of undying Knowledge (Jnâna). Thou shalt never speak, O

Lanoo, of these great ones before a multitude, mentioning them by

their name. The wise alone will understand.”

The Lord of the World is the Head of the Brotherhood, which

is not only a body of Men, each of whom has His own duty to

perform in guiding evolution on the earth, but is also a

stupendous unity, a fully flexible instrument in the Lord’s hand,

a mighty weapon that He can wield. He is known also as the One

Initiator, though in the case of the first and second Initiation

it is open to Him to depute some other Adept to perform the

ceremony for Him; but even then the Officiant turns and calls

upon the Lord at the critical moment of the conferring of the

degree.

He is the Force which drives the whole world-machine, the

embodiment of the Divine Will. His consciousness comprehends all

the life on our globe. In His hands are the powers of cyclic

destruction, for He wields Fohat in its higher forms and can deal

directly with cosmic forces outside our chain. He appears to work

usually with humanity en masse rather than with individuals, but

when He does influence a single person He appears to do so

through âtmâ, not through the ego.

None of the Lords from Venus, as They are often called, took

incarnation in our humanity at all. They did not - in fact could

not - take human bodies; instead, They built for Themselves

vehicles like the highest ideals of the human form in appearance,

yet absolutely unlike it in that they are uninfluenced by time

and are incapable of change or decay.

Although these bodies have been worn for 16 million years,

they still remain precisely as on the day when they were made-by

Kriyâshakti. They must be regarded as a kind of permanent

materialisation; bodies built like statues, and yet to the sight

and the touch presenting the appearance of ordinary living men.

Their dwelling-place ”was and is the Imperishable Sacred

Land, on which ever shines down the Blazing Star, the symbol of

Earth’s Monarch, the changeless Pole, round which the life of the

Earth is ever spinning.” Needless to say, the pole mentioned is

not the geographical pole, but what we may call the spiritual

pole of the earth, and at present it is an oasis in the Gobi

Desert, called Shamballa.

Once in every seven years the Lord of the World conducts at

Shamballa a great ceremony somewhat similar to the Wesak event,

but on a still grander scale and of a different type, when all

the Adepts and even some Initiates below that grade are invited,

and have thus an opportunity to come into touch with Their great

Leader. At other times He deals only with the Heads of the

Official Hierarchy, except when for special reasons He summons

others to His presence.

We mentioned previously that in any given world-period there

are three successive Lords of the World. The task of the Third of

these is far greater than those of the First and Second Lords,

because it is His duty to round off satisfactorily that period of

evolution, and to deliver over the countless millions of evolving

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creatures into the hands of the Seed-Manu, who will be

responsible for them during the inter-planetary Nirvana, and will

hand them in turn to the Root-Manu of the next globe.

The Third Lord of the World, having fulfilled this duty,

takes another Initiation entirely outside of our world, and

attains the level of the Silent Watcher. In that capacity He

remains on guard for the whole period of a round, and it is only

when the life-wave has again occupied our planet and is again

ready to leave it that He abandons His strange self-imposed task,

and hands it over to His Successor.

The Lords from Venus are known also by other names, such as

the Lords of the Flame, the Children of the Fire-Mist, the Sons

of the Fire.

We come now to deal with the effect produced on the mental

evolution of our Globe by the coming of the Lords of the Flame.

This we may divide into two parts: first, the effect produced on

humanity generally, and secondly, the impetus given to the animal

kingdom.

Dealing first with humanity, we should, in the natural

course of events, be devoting ourselves in this, the fourth

Round, to the development of the emotions-the astral principle:

the next Round, the fifth, would normally be that especially

devoted to the development of mind-the mental principle. But so

great was the influence brought to bear by the Lords of the Flame

on the mental evolution, that progress was advanced a whole

Round, the intellect having already been considerably developed

in the present fourth Round. At the same time it must be

understood that the intellect of which we are now so proud is

infinitesimal compared with that which the average man will

possess at the culminating point of the next or fifth round.

We may note here that there is another great Official on the

earth even greater than the Sanat Kumâra, though little is known

of Him or His function. H. P. Blavatsky writes: ”Higher than the

‘Four’ is only ONE on earth as in Heaven - that still more

mysterious and solitary Being” - the Silent Watcher.

We turn now to consider the effect produced on the animal

kingdom by the advent of the Lords of the Flame.

In The Secret Doctrine the Lords of the Flame are spoken of

as projecting the spark into the mindless men and awakening the

intellect within them. This somewhat curious expression should

not mislead us into supposing that They threw some part of

Themselves into the human bodies. They acted rather as a, kind of

magnetic stimulus. They shone upon the people as the sun shines

upon flowers, and drew them up towards Themselves, thus enabling

them to develop the latent spark and to become individualised. In

other words, They so quickened the germs of mental life that

these burst into growth, and there followed the great downrush

through the Monad that we call the Third Life-Wave, causing the

formation of the causal body, the ”birth” or ”descent of the ego”

for all those who had come up from the animal kingdom ( vide The

Causal Body, Chapter XIII). So instantaneous was the response

that the expression arose that They ”gave” or ”projected”, the

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spark of mind. But the spark was not given, rather was it fanned

into flame; the nature of the gift was the quickening of the germ

already present in nascent humanity, the effect of a sun-ray on a

seed, not the giving of a seed.

The power of the Logos was concentrated by the Lords of the

Flame, much as the sun-rays might be concentrated by a lens, and

under that influence the responsive spark appeared.

The Lords of the Flame are the true Mânasaputras, the Sons

of Mind, coming, as They did, from the fifth, the mental Round of

Venus. The Lords from Venus thus enabled millions of entities to

become human: without Their influence, these entities would still

have been in the animal kingdom. For on the Earth globe, in the

fourth Round, a departure was made from what we may call the

straightforward method of evolution, a curious break in the

regular and methodical order of things. This being the midmost

point of evolution marked the last moment at which it was

possible for members of what had been the lunar animal kingdom to

attain individualisation. Consequently a sort of strong effort

was made, a special arrangement was made to give a final chance

to as many as possible.

In order to achieve this, the conditions of the first and

second Rounds were specially reproduced, in miniature, in the

First and Second Root-Races - conditions of which, in the earlier

Rounds, these back-ward egos had not been able fully to take

advantage. Now, with the additional evolution which they had

undergone during the third Round, some of them were able to take

such advantage, and so they rushed in at the very last moment,

before the ”door was shut,” and just became human.

It was in order to assist in this very busy time, just

before the ”closing of the door,” that the Lords of the Flame

came to the earth.

Naturally these individualised entities will not reach any

high level of human development, but at least when they try again

in some future Chain, it will be some advantage to them to have

had even this slight experience of human life.

Among other plans for the helping of evolution, the Lords of

the Flame brought from Venus certain additions to our kingdoms.

They imported wheat as a specially desirable food-stuff for

humanity, and They also brought in bees and ants-the bees to

modify the vegetable kingdom and assist in the fertilisation of

flowers, as well as to provide a pleasant and nutritious addition

to human food.

It was explained in The Causal Body, p. 63, that both bees

and ants live in a manner quite different from that of purely

terrestrial creatures, in that with them the Group-Soul animates

the entire ant or bee community, so that the community acts with

a single will, and its different units are actually members of

one body in the sense in which hands and feet are members of the

human frame. It might, in fact, be said that they have not only a

Group-Soul, but a group-body also.

Our human evolution has attempted to imitate all these

importations, but with somewhat indifferent success. In imitating

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bees we have produced wasps, and in imitating ants we have

produced ”white ants,” as well as curious little ant-flies, which

are almost indistinguishable from them. The nearest that we have

been able to get to wheat is rye, but the crossing of the wheat

with other native terrestrial grasses has given us oats and

barley.

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CHAPTER XX

THE EARTH SCHEME OF EVOLUTION:

THE FIRST CHAIN

WE have now before us, in broad outline, the plan of evolution in

our Solar System, both as regards the ”field,” i.e., the

successive chains, rounds, and globe-periods, and also as regards

the streams of life which enter the field and evolve through the

various kingdoms of nature until they reach, as separate

individuals, the human stage, and beyond that the super-human

stages.

So far we have, as said; dealt with the whole gigantic plan

in very broad outline only, omitting many modifications and

details of the main principles. It will now, therefore, be useful

to describe in detail what is known of the Earth Scheme of

Evolution, explaining as we go the many modifications which, in

practice, are introduced into the main outline so far as we have

already sketched it.

We shall commence with a description of the First Chain of

the Earth Scheme of Evolution.

THE FIRST CHAIN

A glance at Diagram V, p. 16, will show that the globes of

the first chain consisted of 2 globes of âtmic matter, 2 of

buddhic matter, 2 of higher mental, and 1 of lower mental matter.

Although we call them globes, and give them the usual names,

A, B, C, etc., they are more like centres of light in a sea of

light, foci of light through which light is rushing, wrought of

the very substance of light and only light; yet modified by the

flood of light which courses through them. They are as vortex-

rings, yet the rings are but light, distinguishable only by their

c whirling, by the difference of their motion, like whirlpools

made only of water in the midst of water; save that they are

whirlpools of light in the midst of light.

From the above faint description, and from the composition

of the globes, it is evident that the conditions are so different

from all that we now know in our present (fourth) chain as to

make adequate description extremely difficult if not impossible.

The forms are tenuous, subtle, changing; the matter ”the stuff

which dreams are made of.”

It is difficult even to mark off the successive rounds; they

seem to fade one into the other like dissolving views, and are

marked only by slight increases and diminutions of light.

Progress is very slow, recalling the Satya Yuga of the Hindu

Scriptures ( vide p. 205), where a life lasts for many thousands

of years without much change. The entities unfold very slowly, as

rays of magnetised light play upon them. It is like a gestation,

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like growth within an egg, or of a flower-bud within its sheath.

For this chain may be thought of as future worlds in the matrix

of thought, worlds that are later to be born into denser matter.

Hence this, the first chain, is sometimes called the Archetypal

Chain.

Diagram XIV, p. 41, indicates that, of the seven streams of

life that enter this chain, one has just emerged fresh from the

Logos, the other six having been brought over from a preceding

Scheme of Evolution-a Scheme of which we know nothing at present,

except that it must have existed.

We may especially note that our present humanity, having

been in the animal kingdom in the third chain, and in the

vegetable kingdom on the second chain, was in the mineral kingdom

in this, the first, chain.

Whilst all grades of egos exist in the first chain, yet the

absence of the lower levels of matter, i.e., of astral and

physical matter, makes a notable difference in evolutionary

method. For here everything not only starts but also progresses

”above,” there being no ”below” and no forms, in the ordinary

sense of that word. There are instead centres of life, living

beings without stable forms.

There are no astral or physical worlds from which impulses

can surge ”upwards,” calling down the higher in response to

ensoul and use forms existing on the lower levels - as happens in

the conditions in which we are at present living. The nearest

approach to such action is on Globe D (lower mental) where the

animal-like thought-forms reach upwards, attracting the attention

of the subtle centres floating above them. Then more of the life

of the spirit pulses out into the centres, and they anchor

themselves to the thought-forms and ensoul them, and the thought-

forms become human.

The chief interest of the chain seems to be the evolution of

the Devas - those who live habitually on these high levels; the

lower evolutions seem to play a sub-sidiary part.

Humanity is much influenced by these, mostly by their mere

presence, and by the atmosphere created by them; the vibrations

set up by the Deva kingdom play on the lower human types.

strengthening and vivifying them. Occasionally a Deva may take a

human being almost as a toy or a pet; on Globe D (lower mental),

for example, a Deva deliberately helped a human being,

transferring matter from his own body into the human, and thus

increasing its responsiveness and susceptibility. Such a Deva

would be a Rûpa-Deva, living normally in the lower mental world.

Those kingdoms, which we must perforce speak of as vegetable

and mineral, are really composed of mere thoughts, with the

Monads who dream in them, as it were, floating over them, sending

down faint thrills of life into the airy forms. It seems that the

Monads are now and again forced to turn attention to them, to

feel through them, to sense through them, when some external

touch compels a drowsy notice.

The thought-forms are, as we saw previously, as models in

the Mind of the Ruler of the Seven Chains, products of His

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meditation. In and through them, Monads, who have acquired

permanent atoms in some previous Scheme, become vaguely

conscious.

Vague as is this consciousness, there are differences in it.

The lowest grade can scarcely be called consciousness, the life

in the thought-forms resembling what we should now call earth,

rocks, stones. Monads touching these can scarcely be said to be

aware of anything through them, save of pressure, drawing from

them a dull stirring of life, showing itself as resistance to

pressure, and thus different from the yet duller life in the

molecules not attached to Monads, and sensing no pressure.

In the next grade, corresponding to what we now call metals,

the sense of pressure is stronger, and the resistance to it a

little more definite. There is almost an effort to push outwards

against it, a reaction causing expansion. When this sub-conscious

reaction is in several directions, the thought-model of a crystal

is formed.

From the point of view of the consciousness in the mineral,

only the sub-conscious reaction is felt. From the point of view

of the consciousness outside the mineral, trying to feel the

reaction from outside, it records itself as a vague discontent at

the pressure, and a dull resentful effort to resist and push

against it. Probably the Monadic life, seeking expression,

vaguely feels displeasure at its frustration.

Glancing forward for a moment, we may note that Monads

attached to crystals in this chain do not enter the second chain

in the lowest forms of vegetable life, but only in the higher;

passing through these, they enter the third chain (the Moon

Chain) at its middle point as mammals, becoming individualised

there, and taking human birth in its fifth round. This affords a

good example of the principle of the ”over-lapping” of the

kingdoms.

The ”thoughts” of minerals are, as one would expect, not

immobile, but mobile; thus a hill will turn over or float away or

change its form; consequently there is no ”solid” earth, but a

shifting panorama-as is appropriate to worlds which come no lower

than the lower mental level.

The level of attainment set for the humanity of the first

chain was that of the First Initiation. Those who reached this

standard entered on one or other of the Seven Paths, one of these

(the fifth) leading to work on the second chain as the builders

of the forms of its humanity, this being part of the work of what

is known as the Fifth Creative Hierarchy (vide The Causal Body,

p. 40).

These were called by H. P. Blavatsky Asuras, which means

literally ”living beings.” Later the term was confined to living

beings in whom intellect, but not emotion, was developed.

These Asuras, acting on the second chain as Barhishads,

served also on the third chain as Agnisvâttas.

Those entities evolving in the first chain who did not

reach the First Initiation entered the second chain for their own

further evolution at its midmost point, and led its humanity,

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reaching liberation at the close of the chain. Some of these, in

turn, worked on the third chain in building the forms of its

humanity.

It is noteworthy, as we saw in Chapter XIII, that on the

first chain there were, so far as is known, none who dropped out

as ”failures,” i.e., there was no Judgement Day of the First

Order ( vide p. 67).

The first chain is called by the Hindus the first body of

Brahma, the Body of Darkness or of Night. It is known also, as

said before, as the Archetypal Chain.

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CHAPTER XXI

THE SECOND CHAIN

THE second chain ( vide Diagram V, p. 16) is made up of 2 buddhic

globes, 2 higher mental globes, 2 lower mental globes, and 1

astral globe.

In the first round, on Globe D (astral) great surging clouds

of matter were a noticeable feature. In the following round they

became denser, more brilliantly coloured, more responsive to

vibrations which shaped them into forms, though it is difficult

to say whether these forms were vegetable or animal. Thus things

with the general appearance of vegetables moved about with the

freedom of animals, though apparently with little, if any,

sentiency. Not being anchored to physical matter - the lowest

matter of the chain being astral - they were very mobile.

Much of the work of the chain was on higher levels, a

vitalising of subtle matter for future use, showing but little

effect on the lower forms. Just as now elemental essence is used

to build astral and mental bodies; so in the second chain the

Kâma and Rûpa Devas were seeking to differentiate themselves more

fully by using the clouds of matter and living in them. They came

down, sub-plane by sub-plane; into denser matter, but in this

were not using the human kingdom.

Even at the present time a Deva may ensoul a whole

countryside, and such action was very general in the second

chain. The astral and lower mental matter formed the bodies of

the Devas, and was all the time changing and intermingling.

Incidentally permanent atoms of minerals, vegetables and

even animals rooted themselves in the bodies of the Devas,

growing and evolving by so doing. The Devas seemed to take no

particular interest in them; any more than we interest ourselves

in the evolution of microbes in our physical bodies.

Occasionally, however, some interest was shown in an animal, and

its capacity to respond increased rapidly under such conditions.

The humanity of the chain lived in close contact with the

Devas, who still dominated the evolutionary field, both Kâma and

Rûpa Devas influencing strongly, but for the most part

unintentionally, human evolution.

Passion showed itself in many human beings who had astral

bodies on Globe D, and its germs were visible also in animals.

Differences existed in the capacity to respond to vibrations sent

out by the Devas, but changes were very gradual and progress was

slow. Later, when buddhic consciousness unfolded, there was

communication between the Earth Scheme and the Venus Scheme. In

fact, certain entities came from the Venus Scheme to the Earth

Scheme in the second chain, but whether they belonged to the

Venus humanity or were members of the ”Staff” is not known.

Those of us who are now human were in the vegetable kingdom

in the second chain. In that vegetable life there was a dim

awareness of forces playing upon it, and a certain compulsion

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towards growth. In some, there was a feeling of the want to grow-

a desire to flower, as one might say. In others, there was a

slight resistance to the line of growth impressed, and a vague

groping after another, self-chosen direction.

Some tried to use any forces that contacted them, and in

their germinal consciousness held that all around existed for

them. Others tried to push out in a direction which attracted

them, and were frustrated and vaguely resentful. Thus, for

example, one, forming part of a Deva, was observed to be

hindered, since the Deva was naturally arranging things to suit

himself, and not any constituents of his body. On the other hand,

from the obscure view-point of the vegetable, the Deva's

proceedings were as incomprehensible as the weather is to us in

these days, and often as troublesome.

Towards the end of the chain, the more highly developed

vegetables were showing a little mind, in fact a fair baby

intelligence, recognising the existence of external animals,

liking the neighbourhood of some and shrinking from others.

There was also a craving for more cohesion, evidently the

result of the downward rush of life into matter of greater

density, the Will working in Nature for descent into denser

levels.

The level of attainment set for the humanity of the second

chain was the Third Initiation. Those who reached this level

entered one of the Seven Paths, one of these, as before, leading

to work in the next chain.

The second chain is known as the Body of Light, or of Day,

and also as the Creative Chain.

Its ”successes” were the Agnisvâtta Pitris, some of whom

became the Sixth Creative Hierarchy (vide The Causal Body, p.

40), and had to deal with the intellectual evolution of men in

the fourth (Earth) chain.

The student will recollect also that the ”successes” of the

first chain, Asuras, serve again as Barhishads on this, the

second, chain.

Those who did not attain full success, entered the third

chain at the round suitable to the stage they had reached.

In the seventh round of the second chain a considerable

number dropped out from its humanity as ”failures,” having fallen

too far behind to find suitable forms for them to continue in the

second chain They went on later into the third chain, as men.

The foremost of the animal kingdom individualised on the

second chain, began their human evolution on the third chain,

passing through its lower kingdoms very rapidly and becoming men.

They then led the evolution of the third chain until the

”failures,” and later those who had fully succeeded, came in

successively and became the leaders.

The foremost from the vegetable kingdom of the second chain

entered the third chain animal kingdom as mammals, in the fourth

round. The remainder came in during the first round as animals of

the lower types.

The other kingdoms moved on one stage, according to the

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standard plan, the First Elemental Kingdom being as usual

supplied by a new stream of life from the Logos.

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CHAPTER XXII

THE THIRD (MOON) CHAIN

THE FIRST FIVE ROUNDS

THE Third, or Moon, Chain descends a stage in materiality,

possessing 2 higher mental globes, 2 lower mental globes, 2

astral globes, and one physical globe. The middle globe (D), the

scene of the greatest activity of the chain, still survives as

the Moon, the Moon at present being only what is left after much

loss of material, its inner core after the disintegration of the

crust, much diminished in size, on its way to total destruction

in the seventh round of the Earth chain.

The level set for the humanity of the Moon Chain was that of

the Arhat, or Fourth Initiation.

The Moon Chain is known also as the Body of Twilight, the

Sandhyâ, the ”successes” being known as Barhishad Pitris, and

being concerned, in the case of those who worked on the Earth

Chain, with guiding physical evolution, for which purpose they

entered the Seventh Creative Hierarchy ( vide The Causal Body, p.

40).

The student will recollect that the successes of the first

chain, Asuras, served on the second chain as Barhishad Pitris,

and on the third chain as Agnishvâtta Pitris.

Little is known of the first five rounds except concerning

the animal kingdom, and we shall therefore confine ourselves to

that. This kingdom was of course the mineral kingdom in the first

chain, the vegetable kingdom in the second chain, and is now

ourselves, the human kingdom in the Earth or fourth chain.

The crest of this particular life-stream enters the Moon

chain as mammals at its middle point, appearing on Globe D (the

Moon) in the fourth round (vide Diagram XXXIV). These mammals are

curious creatures, small but extraordinarily active. The most

advanced are monkey-like in form, making enormous leaps.

These fourth round creatures are as a rule at first scaly in

skin, the skin becoming later frog-like. Then the most advanced

types develop bristles, which form a very coarse harsh fur.

The air is altogether different from our present atmosphere,

heavy and stifling, reminding one of choke-damp; but it obviously

suits the Moon inhabitants.

The small mammals we are considering have long bodies and

short legs, a mixture of weasel, mongoose and prairie-dog, with a

short scrubby tail, altogether clumsy and ill-finished. They are

red-eyed, and able to see in the darkness of their holes; coming

out of the holes, they raise themselves on their hind legs, which

form a tripod with their short strong tail, and turn their heads

from side to side, sniffing.

They are fairly intelligent, and the relations between them

and men, in one district at least, seems more friendly than

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between wild animals and men now on earth. They are not

domesticated, but do not scuttle away on the approach of men. In

other parts, where men are mere savages, eating their enemies

when they can get them, and animals when man-flesh is

unobtainable, the wild creatures are timid, and fly from human

neighbourhood.

After this first stage, they become creatures that live much

in trees, the 1imbs double-jointed, the feet padded, with a

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thumb-like projection at right-angles to the 1imb, like the spur

of a cock, armed with a curving claw. Running rapidly along the

underside of branches, the animal uses its claw to hold on by,

the remaining part of the feet being useless. But when moving on

the ground it walks on the pad, the spur being above ground level

and therefore not impeding movement.

Animals more highly developed than these, and far more

intelligent, monkey-like in form, live habitually in human

settlements, serving in various ways the men to whom they are

strongly attached.

This class of animals become individualised on Globe D of

the fourth round; on Globes E, F and G, they develop human astral

and mental bodies, the causal body, though fully formed, showing

but little growth. They have three rounds of development as

human beings and, as we shall see later, leave the Moon Chain in

the middle of the seventh round ( vide Diagram XXXIV). In this

group are those entities, known as Mars and Mercury, who later

will be the Manu and the Bodhisattva respectively of the Sixth

Root-Race on the earth in the fourth round. They, and probably

many others, become Masters in the Earth Chain.

After leaving Globe D, the animals of the group first-named

practically sleep through the remainder of the fourth round and

through the first three globes of the fifth round. Very shortly

after physical death, they lose their astral and inchoate mental

bodies and, having no causal, they sleep in a sort of devachan,

without touch with the manifested worlds.

In the fifth round, on Globe D again, they appear as large

monkey-like creatures, leaping forty feet at a bound, and

appearing to enjoy making tremendous springs into the air.

In the fourth human race on Globe D they become

domesticated, acting as guardians of property and playmates of

children, and developing intense affection for their human

masters. Amongst them are those known later as Heracles who,

saving his master’s life by action, individualises through Will;

Sirius who, by intelligence fed by love, individualises through

Intellect; and Alcyone and Mizar who, by one-pointed devotion,

individualise through Wisdom. These are examples of the three

”right” ways of individualising ( vide The Causal Body, p. 86).

Such entities as these are of course henceforth

definitely human, and have the same causal bodies which they

still use. (N.B. This is not quite accurate, but sufficiently so

for our present purposes. For the slight qualification necessary,

vide p. 86.) On Globe E they are human beings; but do not take

any definite part in its ordinary life. They float about in its

atmosphere like fishes in water, but are not sufficiently

advanced to share in its normal activities. Hence they are not

born as children of the human inhabitants of Globe E, who, we may

note in passing, are not prepossessing in appearance.

Their new astral bodies on Globe E are produced by a kind of

protuberance formed round the astral permanent atom. Some

consolidation and improvement is effected in their astral bodies

as they float in the atmosphere of Globe E; similarly in the

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mental body as they float in the atmosphere of Globe F, and

likewise in the causal body on Globe G. This improvement is shown

in the descent through the atmospheres of Globes A, B and C of

the sixth round, wherein the matter drawn into each body is

better of its kind, and is more coherent. But, as said, the

effective progress is on Globe D, whereon physical matter is once

more donned.

Among the advanced animals in the fifth round, living in

contact with primitive human beings, there is a group of especial

interest because they individualise in one of the ”wrong” ways,

viz., through intense vanity, which stimulates the imitative

faculty to an abnormal degree, causing a strong feeling of

separation, until the effort to be distinguished from others

calls down an answer from the higher levels, and the ego is

formed. They were permitted to individualise apparently because,

if they had continued as animals, they would have become worse

instead of better. They were clever enough in their way, but

possessed little of any quality other than pride. They form what

is known as the ”orange” group, because their causal bodies show

little colour beyond a slight tinge of orange. They numbered

rather more than two millions.

After death they dream away the interval until they are re-

born in the sixth round, again on Globe D.

Another set of animals individualised through admiration of

the human beings with whom they came into contact, and whom they

try to imitate. There is no strong love, or wish to serve, but

much desire to be taught, and great readiness to obey. When they

individualise, through the growth of intelligence, the intellect

is ready to submit to discipline, to co-operate, to see the

advantages of united effort, and the necessity for obedience.

They carry into their intermediate existence this sense of

united work and willingness to submit to direction, to their own

great advantage in the future. They form what is known as the

yellow group, because their causal bodies show a clear, bright

and rather golden yellow. They numbered rather less than three

million.

They were not devoid of emotion, but their emotions were

selfish rather than loving. They seem to have developed in their

mental bodies qualities which should have had their roots in

their astral bodies, founded in and nourished by love and

devotion.

There was also a third group, numbering rather more than

three millions, whose causal bodies were mainly pink. Presumably,

therefore, they individualised through affection.

A fourth group individualised through fear, which

stimulated the mind to discover ways of escaping from cruelty. In

other cases animals individualised through an intense desire to

inflict pain, as yielding a sense of power over others. This

group is known as the fear and power group.

We shall pursue the history of these groups in the sixth

round of the Moon Chain, working out their new humanity along

the lines determined by their respective methods of

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individualisation.

It appears that only the three right kinds of

individualisation, caused by a downflow from above, were in the

Plan, the forcing upward from below, the ”wrong” ways having been

brought about by the wrong-doing of man.

In the higher civilisation of the fifth round there were

many communities scattered over the globe, leading distinctly

primitive lives. Some were kindly, although little developed,

fighting vigorously when attacked, whilst others were savage and

continually at war, apparently for the mere lust of bloodshedding

and cruelty.

In addition to these various communities, some large, some

small, some nomad, some pastoral, there were more highly

civilised people, living in cities, carrying on trades, ruled by

settled governments. There did not appear to be much of what we

should call a nation. A city and a considerable, sometimes a very

extensive, area round it, with scattered villages, formed a

separate State, and these States entered into fluctuating

agreements with each other as to trade, mutual defence, etc.

Thus, for example, near to the Equator is a great city with

a large extent of cultivated land round it. The city is built in

separate quarters according to the class of inhabitants. The

poorer people live out of doors during the day, and at night,

when it rains, crawl under flat roofs, reminding one of dolmens,

which lead into oblong holes, or chambers, cut out of the rocks.

These are like underground burrows going a long way and

communicating with each other, a regular labyrinth. The

entrancedoor is made of a huge slab of stone, resting on upright

smaller stones as pillars. The rooms are massed together,

thousands of them, lining the two sides of one long circular

street, and forming the outside ring of the city.

The higher classes live in the domed houses within this

ring, built on a higher level, with a wide terrace in front,

forming a ring right round like the road below. The domes are

supported on short strong pillars, carved all over, the carving

showing a fairly well-advanced civilisation. An immense number of

these domes are joined together at the lower edge, and make a

kind of community city, a belt, with again a circular terrace

above its inner edge.

The centre of the city is its highest part, and there the

houses themselves are taller, with three domes, rising one above

another. The central one has five domes, each successive dome

being smaller than the one below it. The upper ones are reached

by steps inside one of the pillars on the ground floor, and

winding round the central pillar above. They seem to have been

hewn out of the living rock.

In the higher domes no provision seems to be made for light

and air. The highest dome has a kind of hammock hanging from the

centre, and this is the prayer room. It appears that anyone who

is praying must not touch the ground during his prayer.

This is evidently the highest humanity of the Moon; they

will reach the Arhat level - the goal set for the third chain -

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and will later become the Lords of the Moon. They are already

civilised and know how to write.

Those of the lunar humanity who were in the fifth round

entering the Path were in touch with the Hierarchy for the time,

who had come over from the second chain to help evolution on the

third. These lived on a lofty and practically inaccessible

mountain, but Their presence was realised by those on the Path,

and was generally accepted as a fact by the intelligent humanity

of the time.

Their disciples reached Them when out of the body, and

occasionally one of Them descended into the plains, and lived for

a while among men. The dwellers in the central house of the city

described were in touch with These, and were influenced by Them

in matters of serious concern.

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CHAPTER XXIII

THE MOON CHAIN: SIXTH ROUND

NO information having been published regarding Globes A, B and C,

we resume our study with Globe D (the Moon itself) in the sixth

round.

The group of primitive human beings, whose history we are

now more especially following, and who individualised in the

fifth round, on Globe D, are now born in the sixth round as men

of a simple and primitive type, though not savage or brutal ( vide

Diagram XXXIV). Their hair is ragged, lips thick, noses squat and

wide at the base. They live on an island.

They do not fight among themselves except when food runs

short; but there is much fighting against invaders from the

mainland, who are particularly brutal cannibals, fiendishly

cruel, and much dreaded. The islanders kill all whom they take as

prisoners, but do not, like the mainland savages, either torture

them living or eat them dead.

The savages of the mainland are from those who

individualised by fear in the fifth round.

Among the islanders life is communal, and they live

promiscuously. The intervals between death and re-birth are very

short, a few years at most, and they are re-born in the same

community. The second life shows advance, for help comes from

outside, which quickens their evolution.

A stranger - Mars - a man of much higher type, comes to the

islanders, teaches them the use of fire and cultivation of the

soil. Later, Mercury comes also, and under his influence the

people become a little more civilised.

After a time Mars returns to his own country and city. This

was distinctly civilised, with large and handsome buildings, and

many shops. Animals were used, both for draught and for riding.

Commerce was carried on with other cities, and canals connected

the city with others at great distances.

The city was divided into quarters, the different classes

inhabiting different parts of it. In the centre were people of a

distinctly high type, of blue complexion. The ruler and his

highest nobles were in touch with a group of people living

secluded in a somewhat inaccessible region.

These people, some of whom will be known later as the Lords

of the Moon, when they reach the stage of Arhat, were themselves

pupils of still more exalted Beings, who had come thither from

some other sphere, and who had evidently reached a far higher

stage of evolution than that of the Arhat.

It was by These that the Ruler of the city, the capital of a

large empire, was ordered to exterminate the savages of the

mainland coasts. This was duly effected. The islanders,

previously mentioned, were then transferred from their island to

the mainland, and incorporated as a colony of the Empire.

This was part of the operation of the Judgement Day of the

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Moon Chain, when those who were incapable of further progress on

that chain were eliminated from it. Under this category came the

savages, bodies suitable for their low stage of evolution being

no longer available. As they died, they passed into a condition

of sleep. Many bodies of similarly low type were destroyed by

seismic catastrophes which laid whole districts waste, the

population of the globe being thus much diminished.

From this time forward all was directed towards pressing

forward as rapidly as possible those who remained, preparing them

for evolution on the next chain, the Earth Chain.

The whole tribe partially civilised by Mercury managed to

escape the dropping out, while in the city, Heracles and Sirius,

and the households and dependents of Mars and Mercury, also just

slipped over the dividing line, by virtue of their attachment to

their leaders.

The orange group, who individualised in the fifth round by

vanity, were mostly born into city populations, drifting together

by similarity of tastes and contempt for others, though their

vanity led to much quarrelling among themselves.

Separateness became much intensified, and the mental body

strengthened in an undesirable way, becoming more and more of a

shell, shutting out others.

As they repressed animal passions, the astral body grew less

powerful, animal passions being starved out by a hard and cold

asceticism, in stead of being transmuted into human emotions;

sex-passion, for example, was destroyed instead of being changed

into love. Hence, life after life, they had less feeling, and

physically tended towards sexlessness. Whilst they developed

individualism to a high point, this very development led to

constant quarrels and rioting.

They formed communities, but these broke up again, because

no one would obey; each wanted to rule. Any attempt, by more

highly developed people, to help or guide them, led to an

outburst of jealousy or resentment, it being construed as a plan

to manage or belittle them. Pride grew stronger, and they became

cold and calculating, without pity and without remorse.

On Globe E (astral) they remained in activity, but only for

a short time, the astral body being dwarfed until it became

atrophied.

On Globe F (lower mental) the mental body became hardened

and lost plasticity, leading to a curious truncated effect, by no

means attractive, like a man, oddly enough, who had lost his legs

from the knee downwards, and had his trousers sewn up over the

stumps.

The yellow group, individualised in the fifth round by

admiration, was docile and teachable, and also tended to come

mostly into city populations; they formed at first the better

class of labourers, rising through the lower middle class to the

upper, and developing intelligence to a very considerable extent.

They were free from excessive pride, so that their auras, as

mentioned previously, were not orange, but clear, bright and

rather golden yellow.

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Whilst not devoid of emotion, their feelings led them to co-

operation and obedience to those wiser than themselves, being

selfish rather than loving. Their intelligence induced them to

co-operate for their own advantage, rather than to spread

happiness among others; hence their orderliness and discipline

quickened their evolution. But, as we saw before, they gave the

impression of having developed in their mental bodies the

qualities which should have had their roots in their astral

bodies, founded in and nourished by love instead of by self-

interest. Hence their astral bodies were insufficiently

developed. Accordingly they could profit but little by their

sojourn on Globe E (astral), but considerably improved their

mental bodies on Globe F (lower mental).

Globes E, F and G were most useful to the groups of egos who

had individualised in one of the three ”right” ways, and were

hence developing in an all-round, rather than in a lop-sided

fashion, as was the case with those who had individualised in one

of the ”wrong”, ways, so far as intelligence was concerned; for

these egos would be compelled later on to develop the emotions

they had in the early days either stunted or neglected.

In the long run, all powers have to be completely developed;

and in gazing at the huge sweep of evolution from nescience to

omniscience, the progress or the methods at any particular stage

lose the immense importance which they appear to have as they

loom through the mists of our ignorance and propinquity.

As Globes E, F and G in the sixth round came successively

into activity, very great astral and mental progress was made by

the more advanced egos. The Day of Judgement having eliminated

from the chain the backward egos, there were no hopeless laggards

to be a clog on evolution, and growth was steady and more rapid

than before.

Much of the vegetation in the sixth round belonged to what

we should now call the fungus family, but was gigantic and

monstrous. There were trees that grew to a great height in a

single year, and which were semi-animal. Branches when cut off

writhed like snakes and coiled round the men who had been using

the axe, contracting as they died. Red sap, like blood, gushed

out under the strokes of the axe. The texture of the tree was

fleshy; it was carnivorous, seizing any animal that touched it,

coiling its branches round it like an octopus and sucking it dry.

Only very strong and skilful men were entrusted with the

dangerous harvesting of the crop. When the branches had died, the

rind was stripped off and made into a kind of leather, the flesh

being cooked and eaten.

Many of the growths we must call plants were semi-animal and

semi-vegetable. One had a large umbrella-like top, with a slit in

the middle which allowed the two halves, armed with teeth, to

open out; it bent over, with the jaws gaping open, seized any

animal that brushed against it, and closed its jaws over it. Then

the stem straightened itself, and the closed halves again formed

the umbrella-like surface, while the animal was sucked dry. The

men cut the trees down whilst the jaws were closed, the skill

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required for the feat consisting in leaping out of reach, as the

top swooped down to seize the aggressor.

Insect life was voluminous and gigantic, and served largely

as food for the carnivorous trees. Some insects were fully two

feet long, and of most formidable aspect, being greatly dreaded

by the human inhabitants.

The houses were built as quadrangles, enclosing very large

courtyards; these were covered in with strong network, and in the

seasons when the large insects were about, the children were not

allowed to go outside these enclosures.

The year was, roughly, of about the same length as at

present. The relation of the globe to the sun was similar, but

was different as regards the constellations.

When the sixth round was completed, preparations began to be

made for the exceptional conditions of the seventh and final

round, during which all the inhabitants, and much of the

substance of the Moon Chain were to be transferred to the

succeeding chain, that of the Earth.

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CHAPTER XXIV

THE MOON CHAIN: SEVENTH ROUND

THE seventh round of a chain differs from the preceding rounds in

that, as the stream of life vacates any given globe and passes on

to the next globe in order, the vacated globe passes into

quiescence on the way to disintegration.

Further, some of the inhabitants of each globe, being

incapable of further evolution on the chain, pass away from the

chain altogether, and await re-embodiment in the next chain. The

remainder, of course, go on to the next globe in order.

The orange-hued group, numbering rather more than two

million, leaves Globe A (higher mental) in this manner ( vide

Diagram XXXV). They have so shut themselves in their mental

shell, and have so starved the germs of their astral bodies, that

they cannot safely descend further; moreover, they are far too

proud to wish to do so.

Their causal bodies are a rigid shell, not a living

expanding form, and to allow them to pass on to Globe B (lower

mental) would mean a fatal hardening of the lower mental

principle. They are, as we have seen, very clever, but quite

selfish.

The Manu is clearly dissatisfied with these orange-hued

people, and does His best for them by shipping them off out of

the chain. Later, we shall meet some of them again in Atlantis,

as Lords of the Dark Face, priests of the Dark Worship, leaders

against the White Emperor, and so on. For the present they remain

in the inter-chain realm. There are also some other entities, who

had attained the Arhat level, who left the Moon Chain from Globe

A.

The yellow group, rather less than two million, together

with the remainder of the inhabitants, passed on to Globe B

(lower mental); with them were some who had reached the Arhat

level - the level appointed for the chain - on Globe A; these

became Adepts on Globe B.

The entities of the yellow group were shipped off from Globe

B, because they had not sufficiently nourished the emotional side

of their natures to make the formation of a fairly developed

astral body possible for them on Globe C (astral). Their

willingness to obey stands them in good stead, so that in

Atlantis we shall find them as priests of the White Temples,

gradually forming astral bodies of a good type.

We shall see later that both the orange and the yellow

groups enter the Earth Chain in its fourth round, being too far

advanced to take part in the earlier rounds. The principle seems

to be that in each globe it is necessary to develop the qualities

which will need for their full expression the material of the

next globe.

There was another group of entities, who had attained the

Arhat level, who left the Moon Chain from Globe B.

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Coming to Globe C (astral), once more a small number, who

had reached the Arhat level, left the chain, by one or other of

the usual Seven Paths. One group of these is of especial interest

to us because they formed part of one division of the Lords of

the Moon, the group called Barhishad Pitris in The Secret

Doctrine; they were engaged in superintending the evolution of

forms in the Earth Chain. This group had individualised in the

fourth round, among a city population where, being surrounded by

more advanced people, they had been stimulated into more rapid

growth. On leaving Globe C, they went towards the region where

the Earth Chain was already building, where they were later

joined by others who also gave themselves to this class of work.

On Globe D (the Moon) things became very different; for,

when the period for the death of the globe was approaching, the

immense majority of the inhabitants, and most of the animals,

left the chain and passed into the lunar Nirvana, to await

transference to the Earth Chain, when this could be made ready

for them. A very small population was thus left to continue its

evolution on the three remaining globes - E, F and G.

The group of egos that we have been specially following,

known as the group of Servers ( vide Diagram XXXIV), shows marks

of distinct improvement on Globe D. The causal body is well

marked, the intelligence more developed, and affection for their

superiors has deepened and intensified. Instead of a passion, it

has now become a settled emotion, and is their most distinguished

characteristic.

Although the instinct of service is still blind and half-

conscious, yet to serve and to please the higher people to whom

they have devoted themselves is now the dominating motive of

their lives. In the future, this remains their characteristic

through the long series of incarnations that awaits them on the

Earth Chain, when they will do much pioneer work.

Their physical bodies are now bright blue, instead of muddy

brown, as before. During their last incarnations on the Moon they

are brought together, much arranging having been going on for a

considerable time before this. By guiding them to re-birth in

communities, the ties between groups of egos are strengthened.

Thus they become ready to do whatever they are told, and to go

whithersoever they are sent.

They are distinguished by a slight downpour of the higher

life, which causes a little expansion of a thread of buddhic

matter, connecting the buddhic and the mental permanent atoms,

making it a little broader above than below, like a small narrow

funnel.

Large numbers of other people, far more intelligent than

they are, do not show this, for it is connected with the germinal

desire to serve, absent in those otherwise more advanced people.

The group contains many types, by no means only those on one

Ray. They individualised by one or other of the three ”right”

ways, either Will, Wisdom or Activity having been stimulated by

devotion to a superior.

The method of individualisation causes merely a sub-division

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within the main group, affects the length of the interval between

death and re-birth ( vide The Causal Body, p. 84), but does not

otherwise affect the characteristic of serviceableness.

At the head of the group of Servers stand many who have now

become Masters: high above them are many who were already Arhats,

who again receive their orders from far mightier Beings. The Manu

of the seventh Root-Race is in charge, carrying out the

instructions of the Seed-Manu.

The Servers, as they die for the last time on the Moon

Chain, having reached the level required on Globe D, are gathered

on the mental plane, in devachan, where they remain for an

enormous time, having always before them the images of those they

love, notably of the more advanced egos to whom they are

especially devoted. This rapt devotion greatly helps their

development, bringing out their higher qualities, so that later

they are more receptive of the influences which play upon them in

the inter-chain realm.

They are included in the general mass of egos called by H.

P. Blavatsky ”Solar Pitris” and by A. P. Sinnett ”First-Class

Pitris.”

The two groups we mentioned before may be especially noted.

One included Mars an d Mercury, the future Manu and Bodhisattva

of the Sixth Root-Race on the Earth, others who are now Chohans

and Masters, together with many of the Servers who are now pupils

of Masters, or approaching that level. These seem to belong to

the sub-group with the 700 years average interval between lives.

The other group included many who are now Masters and

pupils, all belonging to the sub-group with the 1,2OO years

average interval between incarnations.

These two groups contained many, if not all, of those who

are to form the Heavenly Man.

In the next chapter we shall deal more in detail with the

classes of egos who left Globe D of the Moon Chain, arranging

them in tabular form, according to grades.

Some of those with primitive causal bodies of the ”line”

type pass on to Globe E (astral) for further evolution, and

become ”basket-works,” thus joining the class which was above

them.

Similarly, some basket-works pass on to Globes E, F and G,

and there form the complete causal body, so joining the class

above their own.

Globes E, F and G seem to have been used as a kind of

forcing-house for special cultures, for enabling some to reach

the Path, or to attain Arhatship, who, though near it, could not

accomplish it on Globe D, and to enable some, who were

approaching a higher stage, to enter it.

These planets were centres more than globes. Their

population was small, as we have seen, since the bulk of the

inhabitants, both human and animal, had been shipped off to the

inter-chain realm. Their number was further progressively

diminished by sending off batches from each globe as it passed

into quiescence.

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Those who were shipped off from Globe E consisted of some

already on the Path who had there become Arhats, some basket-

works who had completed the causal body, and some ”lines” who had

become basket-works.

When these had left Globe E; the remainder, consisting of

those below the Arhat level who could bear the strain of further

forcing, were carried on to Globe F (lower mental). Amongst these

were the great entities who later became the Lord Gautama Buddha,

and the Lord Maitreya. They had dropped out of the seventh round

of the second chain, not being able to bear the forcing process

on Globes E, F and G of that chain. They entered the Moon Chain

on Globe D in the fourth round as primitive men, and on Globe F

took their vow to become Buddhas.

The arrangements then, however, were not the same as on the

Earth. There was a kind of Heavenly Council in a heavenly world-

the Buddhist Sukhâvati-and the great Being to whom they made

their vow and who, as the acting Buddha, accepted it, was He who

is called Dîpânkara, who came from the fourth chain of the Venus

Scheme, and who was one of the General Staff.

On Globe G the Lord Buddha and the Lord Maitreya passed the

First Initiation and also reached Arhatship. On Globe G also the

Master Jupiter, among others, entered the Path.

Many of the facts mentioned in this chapter are included in

Diagram XXXIV.

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CHAPTER XXV

PRODUCTS OF THE MOON CHAIN

IT is now desirable to gather up the results of the three

preceding chapters, which dealt with the seven rounds of the Moon

Chain, adding many further particulars, and arranging in various

ways the numerous classes of entities which emerged from the

evolution on the Third or Moon Chain.

To assist the student, we shall make use of some tabular

statements and also a few diagrams.

We will first describe the main classes of entities who

emerged from the Moon Chain, and then proceed to detail their

sub-divisions and ramifications.

In tabular form the main classes were as follows:

The full successes of the chain - Arhats.

Moon-Men of the First Order; sub-divided into five grades.

Moon-Men of the Second Order (basket-work causal bodies).

Moon Animal-Men (line causal bodies).

Moon-Animals of the First Class.

Moon-Animals of the Second Class.

Moon-Animals of the Third Class.

Moon Vegetables.

Moon Minerals.

Moon Elemental Kingdoms III, II and I.

We will now consider these main classes in detail, with

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their various sub-divisions.

Arhats. It will be recollected that the level set for human

attainment on the Moon Chain was the Arhat Initiation. Those who

reached this level were therefore the ”full successes” of the

chain, for they had achieved the purpose of the Logos. Having so

succeeded, they were free to take one or other of the Seven Paths

which always open before the perfected humanity of each chain.

It is not known for certain whether these Seven Paths are

the same as those which open before the Adepts of the present

(Earth) chain, but at least one of them shows decided

resemblance. For just as some of the Earth Adepts will remain in

close touch with the succeeding chain (the fifth), and incarnate

in it in order to help its inhabitants in their evolution, so one

of the seven classes of the Arhats from the Moon, or Lords of

the Moon as they are often called, stayed to help on the Earth

Chain. The members of this class are those called in The Secret

Doctrine the Barhishads, or Barhishad Pitris.

They are known also as ”Sons of Twilight” celestial men,

Sons of the Moon, Progenitors. Another name is the Cubes, because

on the Moon Chain they conquered matter in its quaternary or

four-fold form, and they brought that matter with them for its

further evolution in the Earth Chain.

There are 4 classes of the Barhishad, Lunar, or Rûpa .

Pitris, as they are variously called. The first, from Globe G,

has the causal body as its lowest vehicle, and presides over the

first round of the Earth Chain ( vide Diagram XXXV).

The second class has the mental body for its vehicle and

works in the second round of the Earth Chain.

The third uses the astral body, working in the third round

of the Earth Chain.

The fourth is clothed in the etheric double and pre- sides

over the fourth round of the Earth Chain.

In addition, each of the 4 classes has 7 sub-classes, arûpa

and rûpa, distinguished by difference in evolution; there are

thus 28 sub-classes of the Barhishads, 7 working in each round of

the Earth Chain.

These are sometimes known as the ”seven classes of Pitris”;

they must not, of course, be confused with another seven-fold

classification, which includes the Barhishads, the Agnishvâttas,

and others.

The Barhishad Pitris belong to the Seventh Creative

Hierarchy ( vide The Causal Body, p. 44), and have under them vast

hosts of nature-spirits, who are the actual builders of forms,

the Pitris themselves being more analogous to architects, giving

the plans or models which are worked out by their subordinates.

Moon-Men of the First Order. Below the preceding class comes

a large and diversified group known as Moon-Men of the First

Order. It includes:

(1) Some who were on the lower steps of the Path,

thoughbelow the Arhat level;

(2) Some who had not yet reached the Path, but, were

approaching it;

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(3) The ”failures”, who had dropped out of the lunar

humanity at the great Separation, or Day of Judgement, in the

middle of the sixth round, together with the most advanced lunar

animals, who had succeeded in fully forming the causal body,

having individualised in the fifth, sixth and seven rounds.

We can now add some further particulars regarding these

classes of Moon-Men of the First Order.

(1) Those who were already on the Path have, like the Lords

of the Moon, long ago attained Adeptship and passed away

altogether from the field of our consideration.

(2) Those who were approaching the Path had individualised

in the fourth round of the Moon Chain. These also have by this

time attained Adeptship, or gone still further. Among them are

the present Chohans Morya and Kûthûmi (Mars and Mercury), the

future Manu and Bodhisattva of the sixth Root-Race on the Earth.

Among them also were most of those who became Arhats under the

influence of the preaching of the Lord Buddha.

(3) The next class-consisting of the ”failures” and the

animals who had attained a fully-formed causal body-we may divide

into three sub-classes, according to the round in which they

individualised. One sub-class individualised in the fifth round

of the Moon Chain. They are now the most advanced of our present

humanity, the really distinguished people, whether the world

accepts them as such or not. They are now either on the Path or

approaching it, or they are great saints or men of specially high

intellectual or artistic achievement.

(4) The next sub-class individualised in the sixth round of

the Moon Chain. This is a fairly large group of people,

distinctly gentlemen, persons of refined feeling, with a high

sense of honour, and rather above the average in their goodness,

intellect, or religious feelings. Typical examples are country

gentlemen and professional men, clergy, officers in the army and

navy , etc.

They have strength, but are by no means free from the

possibility of using their power wrongly. They may not always be

considered ”respectable,” in the conventional sense of that term,

but at least they will do nothing low or mean.

(5) The next sub-class individualised in the seventh round

of the Moon Chain. The members of this group do not differ

greatly from those of the preceding sub-class, except that they

are somewhat nearer the average in goodness or intellectual

development or religious feeling. They turn their intelligence

to rather more material ends, perhaps as city merchants. They

represent what is commonly known as the upper middle class -

gentlemen still, yet with a life slightly less elevated than that

of the professional man.

All these sub-divisions of the first order of moon-men melt

into one another by almost indistinguishable gradations, so that

the lowest ego of any one of them differs but little from the

highest ego of the next class below. Not only are the lines

between them thus not clearly marked, but there is even a good

deal of inter-penetration. Egos belonging by right to the

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mercantile class get astray among the professions, while those of

the higher type find themselves forced into business. As they say

in India: ”In these days castes are mixed.”

It will be noted that the divisions are made according to

the round of the Moon Chain in which they became human. When that

happens in any of the earlier rounds it usually means that the

newly-formed ego proceeds to take human incarnations in the next

following round. For example, those who individualised in the

fourth round came into human incarnation in the middle of the

fifth round, and continued to incarnate through the remainder of

the fifth, the whole of the sixth, and half of the seventh.

Those who individualised in the fifth round commenced their

series of human incarnations in the middle of the sixth; those

individualised in the sixth round had their first experience of

human life on the Earth Chain, and of course had to be

correspondingly primitive when they arrived on that chain.

Moon-Men of the Second Order. This class, having

individualised at a somewhat earlier stage of their animal life,

had not yet fully developed a causal body, but had what may be

described as a skeleton of that vehicle, a number of interlacing

streams of force which indicated the outline of the ovoid that

was yet to come. Hence they are known as the Basket-Works.

They are represented now by the great mass of the

bourgeoisie - the lower middle class, a typical specimen of whom

would be the small shopkeeper or shop-assistant. They may be

described as on the whole well-intentioned; but usually narrow,

conventional and dull. They often make a fetish of what they call

respectability. A man who is deadly respectable usually does

nothing whatever that counts, either for good or for ill. He may

go on at a dead level of monotony for many lives, guiding himself

always by the canon of what he supposes other people will think

of him.

Since people of this level cannot learn the lesson of any

particular sub-race as rapidly as the higher classes, they

usually take many incarnations in each before passing on to the

next.

Moon Animal-Men. These egos individualised from the earliest

stage of the animal kingdom at which individualisation was

possible. Consequently they commenced their human life without

anything which could properly be called a causal body, but with

the Monad floating above a personality to which it was linked

only by certain threads of âtmic matter. Hence their name of

”lines,” because their causal body consisted of these lines or

threads.

They represent to-day what are usually called the ”working-

classes,” who make the enormous majority of humanity in every

country. They are the skilled workmen of the world, belonging to

the proletariat, but representing the best class of it; men of

determination and good character, self-respecting and reliable.

First-class Moon-Animals. These individualised in the second

round of the Earth Chain, and are at the present day represented

by the vast mass of unskilled labour, on the whole well-meaning,

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but, usually careless and improvident. With them may be grouped

the higher types of savages, such as the Zulus and some of the

better kinds of American Indians and negroes.

Second-class Moon-Animals. This is a lower type, which

individualised in the third round of the Earth Chain. They are

now savages of comparatively mild type, in some of the hill-

tribes of India, and among Western nations in the wastrels, the

unemployables, the drunkards and many of the slum-dwellers of the

large cities.

Third-class Moon-Animals. These individualised in the fourth

round of the Earth Chain, either on one of the earlier globes or

even on the Earth itself. They are the lowest specimens of

humanity, but little removed from the animal kingdom, being

represented now by the lowest and most brutal of savages, and

among Western nations by habitual criminals, wife- and child-

beaters, and the like. To this group may be added also a few of

those who individualised through hatred or fear.

Moon Vegetables. These are now our animal kingdom.

Moon Minerals. These are now our vegetable kingdom.

Moon Elemental Kingdoms, III II and I. These have all moved

on one stage in the Earth Chain, so that Elemental Kingdom III is

now our mineral kingdom; Elemental Kingdom II is now our Number

III; Elemental Kingdom I is now our Number II.

Our Elemental Kingdom I was of course formed by a fresh

Life-Stream from the Logos, in accordance with the usual plan.

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These results are tabulated in Chart I on p. 125. They are

indicated graphically also in Diagram XXXVI.

Chart II sets out details of the progress of the most

advanced of present humanity and super-humanity, as explained in

the three chapters on the seven rounds of the Moon Chain, and as

partially illustrated in Diagram XXXIV.

It is obvious that it would be possible to classify these

large groups of entities, such, for example, as the Moon-Men of

the First Order, in many different ways, because of the fact that

the various grades overlap and merge imperceptibly into one

another. The following is another classification of the Moon-Men

of the First Order, those who had fully-formed causal bodies.

(1) A large group of highly developed egos approaching the

Path, but not near enough to it to reach it within the life of

the Moon Chain. They are on the line of service, but too far

ahead of group (2) to be classed with it.

(2) The Servers, a very mixed group of many grades united

by the common characteristic of the desire to serve.

(3) A huge group of very good people, but without the desire

to serve, and therefore not turned towards the Path. They will

form the bulk of the population of Atlantis-Earth Chain, fourth

round; fourth Root- Race-during its good period.

(4) A small but striking group of egos, united by the common

characteristic of highly developed intellectual power: future

geniuses; varied as to character and morals, destined to

leadership in the future, but not dedicating themselves to

service nor turning their faces to the Path.

(5) A very large group of good, and often religious people:

merchants, soldiers, etc., fairly clever, self-centred, thinking

mainly of their own development and advancement, knowing nothing

of the Path, and therefore having no wish to enter it.

(6) Another very large group of bourgeois, common-place,

weak people.

(7) Another group, also very large: undeveloped, well-

meaning, uneducated folk, the lowest class having fully formed

causal bodies.

These groups overlap to some extent, and therefore cannot be

made to correspond completely with the classification previously

given.

In the series of articles mentioned in Chapter XIII, Mr. G.

E. Sutcliffe points out that all of the above groups are

accounted for except the first-the highest grade. The less

advanced Servers joined the earth chain in the fourth Root-Race;

it seems probable that the more advanced group will join the

chain in the fifth Root-Race, and will help to bring that Race to

its spiritual zenith: not, be it noted, its intellectual zenith,

for that is the task allotted to group (4). This is perhaps the

”new progeny” spoken of by H. P. Blavatsky as descending ”from

the celestial realms” ( The Secret Doctrine, III, 346-347). Mr.

Sutcliffe calculates that the next period of incarnation of this

group is due to reach its zenith in A.D. 2.000, and states that

the present time should shows signs of it, such signs being

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already abundantly evident in the new types of people who are

appearing in various parts of the world, apparently as the

beginning of the sixth sub-race of the fifth Root-Race ( vide

Chapter LIII). For further points of interest on this matter the

student is referred to Mr. Sutcliffe's exceedingly interesting

articles.

There is, however, one point of special significance at the

present time to which attention may be called. A characteristic

of the higher grade of Servers is that of following ”The Lamb,”

the World-Teacher, wherever He goes. The Servers of the lower

grade, however, follow more especially the World-Teacher-to-be of

the Sixth Root-Race; they left the Moon Chain with him and have

repeatedly incarnated with him since.

Another student has suggested that, as Group I has been for

so long out of incarnation, while Group II has had many trying

incarnations” such as those in Atlantis, it may well be that

Group II has now ”caught up” to Group I in development, so that a

little later on the whole group of Servers may be able to work

side by side, building the Sixth Root-Race, without any too great

disparity in their respective levels of development.

All the above classes are, as said, first-class Pitris,

having full causal bodies. Below them comes the immense class of

second-class Pitris; with basket-work causal bodies. When the

Moon approaches dissolution, they fall asleep in the astral

world, being unable to function therein. When Globe E becomes

uninhabitable, they lose their astral bodies, and remain inward-

turned, to be in due course shipped off to the inter-chain

sphere, to sleep until the third round of the Earth Chain offers

a suitable field for their growth, as we shall see in due course.

Some basket-works of course pass on to the higher globes of the

Moon Chain and succeed in forming a full causal body, so that

they can then join the class above and become first-class Pitris.

Below them again come the third-class Pitris, having ”line;,

causal bodies. They sleep away the inter-chain period and enter

the Earth Chain in the first round. Some of them, however,

continue a little longer on the Moon Chain, passing to Globe E,

where they become basket-works and so join the class which was

above them.

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126

127

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CHAPTER XXVI

THE BUILDING OF THE EARTH CHAIN

WE come now to consider such few facts as are known of the

building of the globes of the fourth or Earth Chain, which is

known to the Hindus as the Body of Dawn.

These globes consist of 2 lower mental globes, 2 astral

globes, and 3 physical globes, namely, Mercury (C), the Earth (D)

and Mars (E).

It will, however, be recollected that the globes of the

Earth Chain, in the first round, were on the same levels as the

globes of the Moon Chain in the seventh round. It was only in the

second round that the globes descended one plane in materiality.

This will be explained further in the next chapter.

As in other cycles, to which reference has previously been

made, the building of one chain overlaps the disintegration of

the preceding chain, i.e., the new chain commences to build

before the old chain has completely broken up and disappeared.

Thus Globe A of the Earth Chain began to form as soon as the

life-stream left Globe A of the Moon Chain in the seventh round.

Each globe may be regarded as an incarnation of an entity

known as the Spirit of the globe. He probably belongs to a class

of Deva, members of which class perform the work of building

globes all through the System.

Through the intermediary of such a Deva, a great wave of

life from the Logos builds up atoms in a System; then molecules

are built, then cells, and so on.

When the life of Globe A of the Moon Chain was ended, the

Spirit of the globe, as it were, transfers the life within

himself to the site of Globe A of the Earth Chain; the Spirit of

the globe thus enters on a new incarnation, moving towards a

lower grade of matter, and the new globe begins to form round

him.

The inhabitants of the deceased globe, or of the dying

chain, have, of course, to wait until the new globes are prepared

for them. These living creatures are like parasites on the

surface of the Spirit of the globe and, in the case of the Earth,

for example, the Spirit of the Earth does not concern himself

with them, being probably not normally conscious of their

existence, though he may feel them slightly when they make very

deep mines.

It will be recollected that from Globe C of the Moon Chain,

in the seventh round, a small group of Arhats came to help in the

preparation of the new chain. They came to the region where the

new Globe A was forming; with them were also other Arhats from

Globes A and B. The life on Globe A commenced with the First

Elemental Kingdom, which flowed upward from the middle of the

globe, sometimes called the workshop of the Third Logos, much as

water wells up in an artesian boring and flows over the edge on

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all sides. It came from the heart of the Lotus, as sap comes up

into a leaf.

This group of Arhats, Barhishads, or Lords of the Moon, as

they are variously called, took no active part at this stage, but

seemed to be looking on at the building of the new world.

Æons later they were joined by another band of Barhishads

from Globe G of the Moon chain, and it was these who made the

original forms on Globe A, giving their Chhâyâs, or Shadows, to

make these, as The Secret Doctrine phrases the process. Then the

entities Game and occupied the forms thus made.

The more advanced Barhishads, from Globes A, B and C, appear

to have superintended the detailed work of the building of the

various globes, without them- selves actually taking part in it.

The lowest class of Barhishads, from Globe G, having nothing

below the causal body, made the primitive archetypal forms on

Globe A of the Earth Chain in the first round, and guided the

”lines,” who came in to fill them and to evolve therein.

The next class, from Globe F, working in the mental body,

superintended the evolution of forms in the second round.

The third class, from Globe E, working in the astral body,

performed a similar function in the third round.

The fourth class, from Globe D (the Moon), carried out

similar duties in the fourth round.

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In addition, some of the Lords from Globe E worked on Mars

in the fourth round, while those from Globe D (the Moon) became

active later on the Earth in the fourth round.

To assist the memory, Diagram XXXVII is appended.

Globes B and C (an astral globe and Mercury) were similarly

built up round their respective Spirits, as these left the

corresponding globes of the Moon Chain.

The Earth was formed when the inhabitants left the Moon.

When the Spirit of the Moon left it, the Moon began to

disintegrate, a very large part of its substance passing over to

build up the Earth, as we saw in Chapter VI. When the inhabitants

left the Moon in the seventh round, Globes A, B and C of the

Earth Chain were already formed, but the Earth itself could not

go far in its formation until the Moon had been vacated by its

Spirit.

We may add here a little further information regarding the

Spirit of the Earth. This has been deferred until now in order

not to break the continuity of our description of the building of

the Earth Chain.

The Earth itself is living, being, as stated, used as a

physical body by a vast entity, who is not highly developed, but

rather something which may be imagined as a kind of gigantic

nature-spirit, for whom the existence of our Earth is one

incarnation. His previous incarnation was naturally in the Moon,

that being, as we know, the fourth planet of the preceding

chain; his next incarnation will be in the fourth planet of the

chain which will succeed the Earth Chain. Of his nature or the

character of his evolution we can know little, nor does it in any

way concern us, for we are, as just stated, but as tiny microbes

or parasites upon his body, who can do nothing on a scale large

enough to affect him.

For him the atmosphere surrounding the Earth must be as a

kind of aura, or perhaps rather corresponding to the film of

etheric matter which projects slightly beyond the dense physical

body of a man. Further, just as any alteration or disturbance in

the man affects this film of ether, so must any change of

condition in the Spirit of the Earth affect the atmosphere, and

consequently what we call the weather. Some such changes must be

periodic and regular, like the motions produced in us by

breathing, by the action of the heart, or by an even movement

such as walking. Others must be irregular and occasional, as

would be the changes produced in a man by a sudden start, or by

an outburst of emotion. Hence whatever corresponds in the Earth

to emotions in a man may well cause chemical changes in the

physical body of the Spirit of the Earth and variations of

temperature in its immediate surroundings; these will, of course,

produce winds; sudden and violent variations will mean storm;

chemical changes beneath the surface of the Earth not

infrequently cause earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

It is well known that some people take an actual delight in

rain, snow high winds, thunderstorms and the like. It is probable

that this is at least partly due to the subtle changes in the

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aura of the Spirit of the Earth, with which they are to some

extent in sympathy. The effect produced upon people by these

various manifestations depends, of course, upon the preponderance

in their temperament of certain types of elemental essence which,

because of this sympathetic vibration, used to be called by

mediæval inquirers earthy, watery, airy or fiery. Hence, to a man

who responds most readily to earth influences, the nature of the

soil upon which he lives is of primary importance, whereas a man

who responds most readily to watery radiations would care little

about the soil so long as he had the ocean or a lake within sight

and within easy reach.

Every type of rock or soil has its own special variety of

influence, and these vary greatly; three factors are at work: the

life of the rock, etc., itself; the kind of elemental essence

appropriate to its astral counterpart; the kind of nature-spirits

which it attracts. Similar considerations apply to the influences

which water exerts upon those specially susceptible to its

radiations.

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CHAPTER XXVII

THE EARTH CHAIN: THE FIRST ROUND

OWING to the fact, mentioned in the preceding chapter, that the

globes in the first round were at the same level as those of the

Moon Chain in its seventh round, and therefore a grade higher

than they are to-day, and have been since the second round, the

conditions of life during the first round were different from any

that have prevailed since. For not only the matter of the globes

but the life itself was also in all cases a stage higher.

Globes A and G, for example, which are now on the lower

levels of the mental plane, were then the theatre for life

belonging to the higher levels. The globes themselves were built

even then of lower mental matter, but it was not in a condition

to be inhabited by beings at its own level; it was not

sufficiently condensed, or at rest.

Globes B and F, though composed of astral matter, were then

utilised only for forms of lower mental matter.

Globes C and E (Mars and Mercury) were still in a condition

largely gaseous and etheric, and only astral bodies were employed

by the entities who lived upon these two planets.

Our own planet D (the Earth) already contained a good deal

of solid physical matter, but in a condition of heat so intense

that there were still lakes and seas, and even showers, of molten

metal; hence it would have been quite impossible for people with

bodies in the slightest degree like ours to live there at all.

The inhabitants, however, used only vehicles of etheric matter,

and therefore were not at all incommoded by these conditions.

In the interval between the First and Second Rounds the

matter of the various globes had time to settle down into a more

orderly condition, so that each of them could be inhabited in the

Second Round by entities using vehicles at the level of its own

matter.

The following is a vivid description of the condition of the

globes in the first round. ”Behold a vast mass of heaving,

tossing, whirling, fiery matter, flashing, rolling, changing, in

billowing masses, slowly aggregating itself according to three

varying densities, into seven filmy forms. Scarce forms indeed

can we call them, for even when we descend to the fourth, the

most material of the globes” we can catch only a dim glimpse of

Earth's first rûpa (form), a mere film of âkâsha, tenuous,

radiant, luminous, fiery. There is nothing visible save embodied

fire in this round. Seven of these globes we dimly see, of which

the fourth, that is to be our Earth, is the most perceptible.

Above it, on the descending arc, vague and vaguer shadows loom

through the fiery mists. Above it, on the ascending arc, three

other shadows, fiery, scarce perceptible. A vast panorama of

flames, that take and lose again the form of globes, huge,

wondrous, awe-inspiring, in resistless force and overwhelming

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energy.”

The worlds are thus curious, like churning whirl-pools; Mars

and Mercury are still in a condition largely gaseous and etheric,

entities on them living in astral bodies. The Earth, the most

solid, is hot, muddy, sticky, and much of its territory does not

seem to be anchored down very firmly. It is seething, and

constantly changing in consistency; huge cataclysms engulf great

multitudes from time to time, and in their embryonic condition-

for they are using only etheric bodies-they do not seem very much

the worse for their engulfing, but increase and multiply in huge

caves and caverns, as though they were living on the surface.

The Earth Chain consisting of new globes, freshly

aggregated, there were, of course, at first no forms on them for

the incoming entities to inhabit. These forms, therefore, had to

be established for all the kingdoms of nature. This needs to be

done at the beginning of the first round of a new chain, but

never after that; for, as was explained in the chapter on ”The

Inner Round,” there is always left on each globe, even when the

main streams of life have passed on to the next globe in order, a

small nucleus of entities belonging to each kingdom.

Accordingly, the lowest class of human beings of the Moon

Chain come into the Earth Chain at its commencement, and

establish the forms in the first round. They are then followed by

the next grades of entities in succession, as we shall see in

detail in due course.

We may repeat here what was said in Chapter XVII as an

example of the work of a Manu. In the first round of the Earth

Chain the Manu in charge brought down all the archetypes for the

whole of the chain. Although many of these will not be fully

perfected down here until the seventh round, yet the germs of all

of them were already there in the first round.

For every kingdom in nature He selected a certain set of

forms, which He wished to have vivified during the first round,

with the view of developing from them at later stages everything

which the Logos wished the Earth Chain to produce.

The scheme of these forms, materialised down to a level

where they could use them, was handed over to certain of the

Lords of the Moon, or Barhishads, who were entrusted with the

work of setting the activities of the first chain in motion. The

Barhishads from Moon Chain Globe G were in charge of this, the

first round of the Earth Chain.

In each of the seven globes of the first round they made

these forms, and as they made them the animal-men from the Moon

Chain entered them, solidified and used them, and from them

generated others which could be inhabited by the moon-animals

which occupied the stages below them.

In accordance with the principle, already explained ( vide p.

1O2), that the most backward entities are those who incarnate

first on a new globe, entering there the primitive forms which

have so far been evolved, the Moon Animal-Men, having only

”line”, causal bodies, came first into the Earth Chain. To them

was assigned the pioneer work of the Chain.

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With them came also the great mass of animals from Globe D

of the Moon Chain. The ship-loads or batches succeeded each other

at intervals of about 1OO,OOO years, and then the supply stopped,

and an immense period followed” during which the new arrivals

were, as said, doing the pioneer work of the chain, during the

first and second rounds.

Their progress possessed this curious feature, that they did

not continue their evolution from the point where they had left

it on the Moon Chain, but recapitulated all of its stages many

times. For on each of the planets of the Earth Chain in the first

round they entered the First Elemental Kingdom, passing rapidly

through it, and then through the Second and Third Elemental

Kingdoms, the mineral, the vegetable, the animal, and eventually

reached the human kingdom once again ( vide Diagram XXXVIII).

In each of the kingdoms they fulfilled the function of

establishing the forms, taking the idea of them from the

Barhishads directing the evolution of the globe concerned. These

primitive entities may, perhaps, rather be considered as flowing

into the moulds made by their instructors, and as materialising

the moulds for the use of those who followed them.

Having done this on each of the seven planets in the first

round, they attained humanity for the last time on the seventh

135

planet of the Earth Chain in this first round. Since then they

have rested from that particular and tedious kind of labour, for

in the second round they were human from the beginning. But,

although they entered the first globe of the second round at the

level of primitive humanity, it was so primitive that the

advantage was scarcely a perceptible one.

The evolution, on the various rounds of the Earth Chain, of

the forms into which these entities entered, was carried out, as

stated, by the Barhishad Pitris. Barhishads from Globe G of the

Moon Chain, being the lowest class of Barhishads, made the

primitive archetypal forms in the first round of the Earth Chain;

those from Globe F of the Moon Chain constructed the forms for

the second round of the Earth Chain; those from Moon Chain Globe

E built the forms for the Earth Chain third round; whilst the

forms for the present fourth round of the Earth Chain were built

by Barhishads from Moon Chain Globe D.

Coming now to describe the little that is known of the

conditions of the first chain, we find that the man on Globe A

(at present higher mental) can hardly be called a man at all: he

is a thought. He is what will some day be a mind-body, bearing

perhaps the same relation to its later possibilities as the

embryonic form of an infant after the first month bears to the

fully- developed human body. He has marvellously little

consciousness at this early stage.

On Globe B, at this stage lower mental, though in the second

round to become astral, everything was fixed definitely at the

lower mental level, with a little commencement of astralisation.

On Globe C (Mars) men had definite astral bodies, but they

were as yet imperfect, for matter of certain sub-planes only was

then to be had. A little touch of etheric matter also was

introduced, though only certain kinds of ether were available.

On Globe D (Earth) men had etheric bodies, but they were

mere drifting shapeless clouds, though towards the end of the

globe-period they began to aggregate round themselves gaseous

matter as well as etheric. They appear to have absorbed from the

intensely heated atmosphere whatever they required in the way of

nutriment.

They seem to have had a succession of manifestations which

we may take as corresponding to races: apparently, however, these

were only root-races, for there were but seven; and one

incarnation, if we can call it an incarnation, for each

individual lasted through the whole race. They multiplied by

fission.

It appears that the world-periods were then enormously

longer than they are now, but still it is not easy for us, with

our ideas of what life means, to understand how these most

primitive of men could contrive to evolve at all.

In the lower kingdoms, some entities in etheric bodies

appeared to be trying, but not very successfully, to be dreams of

vegetables.

The etheric bodies of minerals were formed, but these were

not whole etheric bodies, because at this early stage only some

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of the sub-planes were fully vivified.

Further, the atoms were more sluggish, since, this being the

first round, only one set of spirillæ was in activity.

The general condition of the world has already been

described, but we may add some further particulars. Minerals were

somewhat more solid than they had been on Mercury, for they were

largely pelted on to the Earth by the Moon in a molten condition;

the temperature might be anything above 3,500º C. (6,332º F.),

for copper was in the condition of vapour. Silicon was visible,

but most of the substances were proto-elements, not elements, and

the present combinations seemed to be very rare. The Earth was

surrounded by huge masses of vapour shutting in the heat, and

hence cooled very slowly. At the Pole there was some boiling mud,

which gradually settled down, and after some thousands of years a

green scum appeared, which would become vegetable later on.

By the end of the globe-period the temperature was

considerably reduced, perhaps to about 1,OOOº F. on the average,

though it remained much hotter in certain districts, and in

others it had got down to the level of boiling water.

On Globe E (Mercury) there were apparently only the three

higher ethers-not four as there had been on the Earth. The

humanity, however, had obviously progressed, and were much more

alive than they had been, though even now their consciousness

seemed amoeba-like. Nevertheless, it is clear that man was

already beginning in a blind way to work both upwards, to make

his vehicles more conscious, and downwards, to densify his lower

vehicles.

Primitive though everything was, each globe was certainly an

advance on that which preceded it. But in all cases it appears

that man had not yet the full consciousness even of any

subdivision of matter in which he happened to be working. The

impression given rather is that each sub-division was again sub-

divided, and that he was able to use only this fraction of a

part.

Little seems to be known concerning the conditions on Globes

F and G (at this stage lower and higher mental respectively),

except that there for the first time was observed the phenomenon

of ”failures,” which has previously been mentioned and explained.

It will, of course, be understood that no matter of the

lower planes is ever carried over from one globe to another. Only

the egos are carried over, and they draw round themselves matter

belonging to the new planet and, in the case of physical bodies,

obtain these from the baby vehicles provided by the entities who

are already living on the new planet.

In the first round, when form appeared for the first time,

so far as the Earth Chain is concerned, the human shape was

evolved from the animal, precisely as the Darwinian theory

suggests. There is, however, an important difference between the

Darwinian theory and the teachings of Occultism, because; for the

inconceivably slow process of natural selection from accidental

variation, Occultism substitutes an intelligent direction, both

of the selection and of the variations, holding that the forms

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evolve only in order that they may be a fitter expression for the

evolving life within.

In the present (fourth) round, however, Occultism is at

direct variance with the Darwinian theory, for it teaches, as we

shall see later, that the process was reversed, the human form

existing on the Earth before those of any of the mammals which we

now know.

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CHAPTER XXVIII

THE EARTH CHAIN: THE SECOND ROUND

IN the second round the globes descended a stage in materiality,

becoming what they are now, viz., 2 lower mental globes, 2 astral

and 3 physical.

In this round the temperature of Globe D (the Earth) had

dropped considerably, so that copper had become liquid, and in

some places solid. There was some land near the Poles, but flames

burst out if a hole was made.

The forms made in the first round being already there, it

was not necessary to repeat the building process.

In this round man was working at the first and second sub-

divisions of matter of each sub-plane only, so that, while he had

in him matter of all the planes; it was only the two lower sub-

divisions of the two lower sub-planes that were active.

The races were much more definite, and were clearly

distinguishable one from another. Men were no longer mere

drifting clouds of etheric or gaseous matter, but had succeeded

in developing a certain amount of solidity though they were still

unpleasantly jelly-like in consistency and indeterminate in

shape. H. P. Blavatsky called them ”pudding-bags,” because of the

curious shapeless projections which they had instead of arms and

legs. At the beginning of the round they put out these

projections temporarily, just as an amoeba does; but constant

repetition of the process at last made the projections permanent,

and moulded them into some approximation to the form into which

they were destined finally to settle.

Many of these creatures were so light and tenuous that they

were able to drift about in the heavy atmosphere of the time.

Others rolled along rather than crept, but none of them were able

to maintain themselves in an upright position without assistance.

A blow on their bodies made an indentation, which slowly

filled up again, like the flesh of a person suffering from

dropsy. The fore part of the body had a kind of sucking mouth,

through which it drew in food, and it would fasten on another and

draw it in, as though sucking an egg through a hole, whereupon

the sucked one grew flabby and died.

They had a kind of flap-hand, like the flap of a seal, and

they made a cheerful kind of chirruping, trumpeting noise,

expressing pleasure; such pleasure was a sort of general sense of

well-being, and pain was a massive discomfort, nothing acute, but

only faint likes and dislikes.

The skin was sometimes serrated, giving shades of colour.

Later on, they became a little less shapeless and more human, and

crawled on the ground like caterpillars. Later still, near the

North Pole, on the cap of land there, the creatures were

developing hands and feet, though unable to stand up, and more

intelligence was noticeable.

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A Barhishad, from Globe F of the Moon Chain, was observed,

who had magnetised an island, and shepherded on to it a flock of

the creatures, reminding one of sea-cows or porpoises, though

with no formed heads. They were taught to browse, instead of

sucking each other, and when they did eat each other they chose

some parts in preference to others, as though developing taste.

The depression which served for mouth grew deeper into a

kind of funnel, and a stomach began to develop, which was

promptly turned inside out if any alien matter which was

disapproved of found its way in. One turned himself entirely

inside out, and seemed none the worse.

The surface of the Earth being still very uncertain they

occasionally got burnt or partially cooked; this they evidently

disliked, and if it went too far they collapsed.

Reproduction was by budding: a protuberance appeared, and

after a while broke off and led an independent existence.

Man was still lamentably incomplete as regards his higher

vehicles. He had what he considered a mind, and something else

that might stand for a feeble astral body, but his consciousness

was still dim and vague and he had little thinking power: he was

all instincts and almost no reason.

After a time the end of the body which contained the funnel

tapered off somewhat, and a small centre appeared in it which, in

far future ages, might become a brain. A small protuberance

appeared, and there was formed the habit of drifting forward,

with this in front; as carrying the mouth; impacts being

constantly made on it, development was promoted.

In this round the animal-men (line causal bodies) maintained

and improved their human position, and by the end of the round

the first class of the animals had definitely attained humanity.

Just as all the archetypes of the mineral kingdom had been

fully brought down in the first round, though not yet fully

worked out, so were all the vegetable archetypes brought down in

the second round, though it was long after that before they were

all realised.

Vegetable life was aided by the heavy choking atmosphere;

there were forest-like growths, much resembling grass, but forty

feet high and proportionately thick. They grew in the warm mud,

and flourished exceedingly. It is probably chiefly to the

vegetation of this period that we owe our coal deposits.

Towards the end of the round, some of the Earth was quite

solid and only reasonably warm. There was much tumultuous

cracking, apparently due to shrinkage, and every hill was an

active volcano.

Mars became more solid, cooling rapidly in consequence of

its smaller size, but life on it was much like that on Earth.

The building of the forms in this the second round was in

charge of the Barhishads from Globe F of the Moon Chain.

The Moon Chain animal-men, who had rapidly run through all

the kingdoms in the first round, entered the first globe in the

second round at the level of primitive humanity, and continued

their evolution thereon as human beings.

140

In the course of the second round, the first class of the

moon-animals reached the human level.

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CHAPTER XXIX

THE EARTH CHAIN: THE THIRD ROUND

IN the third round of the Earth Chain conditions became more

comprehensible. Even in the earlier globes man became more human

in shape than he had been before, though even then he was still

cloudy, gigantic and far from beautiful.

On Globe C (Mars) some animals began to develop, though at

first they looked rather like clumsy logs of wood. As time went

on, they obtained for the first time in this round what may be

called a recognisably human body, though at first it was still

etheric, and more like some kind of reptilian monkey than man as

we know him now.

He was still somewhat jelly-like, so that if the skin were

poked the hole remained for a long time before it filled out

again. He had rudimentary bones, but perhaps more gristle than

bone. He was not stiff enough to stand, and so he lay grovelling

and wallowing in the soft warm mud at the sides of the rivers.

The physical configuration of Mars was very different from

that now known to us, for the water scarcity had not yet arisen.

On the contrary, about three-fourths of the surface was water and

only one-fourth dry land. Hence there were no canals, as now, and

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the general physical condition much resembled that of the Earth

to-day.

Much of the country was pretty, though the vegetation was

peculiar. The atmosphere was what we should now consider

unbreathable, being full of chlorine and quite suffocating.

All the animal archetypes were brought down in this round,

though many of them were not worked out until the middle of the

present (fourth) round.

The Moon Animal-Men (line causal bodies) had by this time

developed basket-work, of a coarser kind than that which had been

developed on the Moon. When this stage was reached, Moon Men of

the Second Order (basket-works) came streaming in. Also batches

were sent off by the Seed Manu to the Earth ( vide Diagram

XXXIX, which represents graphically an epitome of Rounds I, II

and III).

A Manu was observed bringing to Mars a batch of basket-

works, reminding one of the legends of Noah with his ark, and

also of stories in the Hindu Purânas of the Manu crossing the

ocean in a ship, bearing with Him seeds for a new world. Arriving

on Mars, He founded a colony of His basket-works thereon.

This set of basket-works had come from Globe G of the Moon

Chain, and was therefore the least developed of the basket-work

class, having been the last to reach that stage.

The Manu guided them to take birth in the most promising

third-Race families on Mars, and, as they grew, He led them off

to His colony, where they would more quickly develop into fourth-

Race people.

In the colony the people moved by a central will, like bees

in a hive ( vide The Causal Body, p. 63), the central will being

that of the Manu. He sent out streams of force and directed all.

Another set of basket-works came from Globe F of the Moon

Chain, and a third set from Globe E; those from Globe F arrived

first, and formed the fourth Race on Mars, those from Globe E

formed the Martian fifth Race.

Under the fostering care of the Manu, they developed some

affection and some intelligence, at first living in caves, later

beginning to build, and even teaching the aborigines to build

under them. Thus, at this stage of evolution, even basket-works

became leaders.

They were hermaphrodite, but one sex was usually developed

more than the other, and two individuals were necessary for

reproduction. Among the lower types, other forms of reproduction

also existed, and there were some primitive human beings of the

hydra kind who reproduced by budding and others by exudation,

while some were oviparous. But these were not found among the

basket-works.

In the Martian fifth Race the social arrangements changed,

as more intelligence was developed. The bee system disappeared,

but they still had little individuality, and moved rather in

flocks and herds, shepherded by their Manu.

The basket-work became more closely woven, representing what

could be done by the unfolding life in those who were

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emphatically self-made men, unaided by the great stimulus given

in the fourth round by the Lords of the Flame. This type of man

is still largely represented among us to-day by the people who

hold conventional ideas because others hold them, and are

wholly dominated by ”Mrs. Grundy.” They are often quite good

people, but very sheepy and ”flocky,” and are appallingly

monotonous.

There was one fierce type of basket-works which lived, not

in communities, but wandering about the forests in pairs. Their

heads ran up to a point behind, matching the chin in front, so

that the head, ending in two points, looked odd and unattractive.

They fought by butting against each other like goats, the top of

the head being of very hard bone.

There were some yet lower types, curious reptilian

creatures, living in trees. They were larger than the ”lines” and

far less intelligent, and ate the latter when they had the

chance.

There were also on Mars some carnivorous brutes, huge

crocodile-like animals who fiercely attacked men.

On the Earth, the third round much resembled that on Mars,

the people being smaller and denser, but, from our present

standpoint, still huge and gorilla-like. Even from the beginning

they were more compact, and began to stand upright, though they

were still shaky and uncertain, and always fell back to all-fours

when pursued or frightened.

They began to have hair and bristles upon the body, but they

were still loose and flabby. Their skins were dark and their

faces scarcely human, strangely flattened, with eyes small and

set curiously far apart, so that they could see sideways as well

as in front.

They had the lower jaw very heavily developed, and

practically no forehead, but just a roll of flesh like a sausage

where the forehead should have been, the whole head sloping

backwards curiously.

The arms were much longer in proportion than ours, and could

not be perfectly straightened at the elbows, a difficulty which

existed also with the knees.

The hands and feet were enormous and misshapen, and the

heels projected backwards almost as much as the toes did

forwards, so that the man was able to walk backwards as rapidly

and as certainly as in the other direction. This curious form of

progress was facilitated by the possession at the back of the

head of the third eye, which still remains to us in a rudimentary

form as the pineal gland.

Even yet men had scarcely any reason, but only passions and

instincts. They knew nothing about fire, were unable to count.

They ate chiefly certain slimy creatures of reptilian nature, but

they also dug up and ate some kind of primitive truffle, and tore

off the tops of gigantic tree-ferns in order to eat the seeds.

Towards the middle of the occupation of the Earth the

separation of the sexes took place.

Soon after that the Second Order of Moon Men (basket-works)

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from Globe D, the Moon, came into incarnation. After them came

the basket-works from Mars, the whole resembling fairly

intelligent gorillas. In the first place they were born of the

existing humanity, but they soon established a new type for

themselves, becoming smaller, more compact, lighter in colour and

generally speaking much more what we should now call human in

appearance.

There was constant war between them and the earlier and more

gigantic inhabitants, who caught and ate them whenever

opportunity offered. But the later arrivals, having much more

intellect, were presently able to dominate their gigantic

congeners, and to keep them in some sort of order. In fact,

practically the whole world presently passed into their control,

and the earlier races had either to adapt themselves to the more

civilised life or to be driven off into the less desirable parts

of the country.

The animals were very scaly, and even the creatures we must

call birds were covered with scales rather than feathers. They

all seemed to be made of a job-lot of fragments stuck together,

half-bird, half-reptile, and wholly unattractive.

In this round the second class lunar animals reached the

human level.

The Earth was still far from being as quiescent as it is to-

day. Earthquakes and volcanic outbursts were still painfully

common, and life was distinctly precarious. The configuration of

the land was entirely different, and mountains seem to have

attained stupendous heights, unknown to us now. There were

enormous waterfalls, and great whirlpools were also common.

Nevertheless it was by this time a little more like our

present world than the preceding globes, in fact than anything

since we left the Moon. Later on even cities were built.

The work of the Barhishads, the Lords of the Moon, who in

this round were Arhats from Globe E of the Moon Chain, resembled

the training of animals more then the evolution of a humanity.

They were, as in previous rounds, working on sections of the

different bodies, physical and subtle. The third sub-planes of

the physical, astral and mental planes were being worked through,

but of course only the third sub-divisions of those sub-planes.

The methods of reproduction on the Earth were those which

are now confined to the lower kingdoms of nature. In the first

and second Races, not thoroughly densified, fission still

occurred, but in the third and onwards the methods were various:

in the less organised, budding-off like hydræ: the exuding of

cells from different organs of the body, which reproduced similar

organs, and grew into a miniature duplication of the parent; the

laying of eggs, within which the young human being developed.

These were hermaphrodite, and gradually one sex predominated, but

never sufficiently to represent a definite male and female.

When the race passed on to Globe E (Mercury), there was on

the whole a decided improvement. Much more affection appeared,

and men showed distinct traces of unselfishness, sharing their

food instead of snarling over it as they had frequently done at

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the earlier stages.

The presence of the Moon-Men (fully formed causal bodies)

had given a great impetus to progress, and though the bulk of

humanity were still very animal and undeveloped, traces of co-

operation and rudimentary civilisation already began to appear.

Nothing is known of the conditions on Globe F (astral) or on

Globe G (lower mental).

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CHAPTER XXX

THE FOURTH ROUND: GLOBES A, B and C

THE fourth round is often called the human round because, at its

beginning, all the archetypes for every Root Race were brought

down and appear on Globe A. From an examination of these

archetypes it is possible to see what men of the future will be

like. They will have finer vehicles in every way, and will be

distinctly more beautiful in appearance, expressing in their

forms the spiritual forces.

The student will recollect also that in the fourth round the

mineral is destined to reach perfection, i.e., the point of

greatest hardness and density. In taking a preliminary bird's-eye

view of the fourth round, there are three important

characteristics which differentiate it from the preceding rounds;

these are:

(1) The change in the condition of the elemental essence:

(2) The shutting of the door against the animal kingdom, and

the opening of the door to the Path:

(3) The recapitulation of the first three rounds on the

fourth globe (D, the Earth).

We shall deal with the first of these in this chapter, and

with the other two in later chapters. On Globe A, in the fourth

round, mind became definite on the lower mental level, so that we

may say that in this round man began really to think. The result

at first was by no means good. In the previous rounds he had not

been sufficiently developed to originate thought-forms to any

great extent, and consequently the elemental essence of the

globes had been affected only by the thoughts of the devas, which

left everything harmonious and peaceful. Now that man began to

interject his selfish and jarring thoughts, this comfortable

condition was very largely disturbed. Strife, unrest and

disharmony were introduced: the elementals began to show

hostility to man, for, from their standpoint, he was no longer an

animal among animals; but an independent and domineering entity,

likely to be hostile and aggressive.

Furthermore, the animal kingdom drew decisively apart from

man, and began to feel fear and hatred towards him.

When the life-wave reached Globe C (Mars), it found in

possession of the planet, besides the ordinary seed-humanity,

another and most unpleasant race, which is spoken of in The

Secret Doctrine as the ”water-men, terrible and bad.” These were

basket-works of a very poor kind, some of those who had

individualised through fear and hate.

They were descended from the type which had been left behind

in the previous round as unfit to make progress, and since then

they had been engaged in developing the evil side of their

nature.

They were amphibious, half-reptile, half-ape, scaly

creatures, with a horrible tarantula-like appearance about the

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eyes, and a fiendish delight in cruelty and evil. They seem also

to have had a certain amount of low-class mesmeric power, and

were a kind of primitive edition of the Malakurumbas as described

by H. P. Blavatsky in her account of the hill tribes of the

Nilgiris.

When the life-wave came round, the incoming humanity soon

established itself sufficiently strongly to free itself from the

fear of these monstrous savages. It was to resist possible

attacks from them that the first fortifications were erected by

man, and it was also to be able to defeat their malignity that

men began first to build primitive cities and live together in

considerable numbers. At first they built principally of wood and

mud, though sometimes of piles of unhewn stone.

At this period, that of the fourth Race, some of the Lords

of the Moon incarnated among men and taught them many things,

among others the use of fire, which, however, they did not yet

know how to produce for themselves. The greater Beings lighted

their fires for them, and then they kept them perpetually alight.

Very early a stringent law was made that a public fire should

always be kept burning in a building specially dedicated to it,

and the young girls who could not as yet either work or fight

were usually left to watch it. From this no doubt arose the first

idea of a sacred fire, ever to be kept burning as a religious

duty, and of the appointment of vestal virgins to guard it.

Sometimes, however, it happened that, from a great flood or

tempest or some other catastrophe, a whole district was left for

a time without fire, and then the people often had to travel far

in order to obtain and carry back to their homes this prime

necessity. Some bold spirit conceived the idea of obtaining fire

in such an emergency from the crater of a volcano, and many lives

were at one time or another lost in attempting to do so.

It was also the Lords of the Moon-Barhishads from Globe E of

the Moon Chain-who planned the system of canals, owing to the

scarcity of water; the work was executed by the basket-works

under Their direction. The Martian seas are not salt, and the

polar snow-caps, as they melt, supply the water necessary for

irrigation, and thus enable the ground to be cultivated, and

crops to be raised.

The fifth Root-race was white, and made considerable

progress, the basket-works developing a complete causal body.

They were good, well-meaning, and kindly, though not capable of

any large ideas, of widely spread feelings of affection, or of

self-sacrifice. At a quite early stage they began to divide food

instead of fighting over it, developing the social feeling to

some extent.

Being thus comparatively advanced, they built their houses

of hewn stone, though without mortar. They were proud and

warlike, but had some curious ideas. They appear to have had no

initiative whatever, and they regarded anything new with horror,

as exceedingly immoral and repulsive.

They had no perseverance, and even yet but little reasoning

capacity. Everything was done under impulse, and nothing was

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under control in any way, so long only as it was nothing new. Yet

in many ways they would compare favourably with some races which

exist on the Earth now.

The sixth Race people were a much more powerful set, with a

considerable amount of will and determination. They soon

dominated the fifth Race, taking up its civilisation and carrying

it much further. They succeeded in subduing the whole of the

planet and brought it under one rule, although the enormous

majority of its inhabitants belonged to the fifth Race.

These people had much more mind than the others, and

possessed some inventive genius, but it was their tendency to do

everything by fits and starts, and not to take up a piece of work

and carry it through.

There was some psychic development among them, but it was

usually uncontrolled. Want of control, in fact, was a permanent

characteristic of this Martian civilisation. Everything was

erratic, even though the people were capable in certain ways.

The seventh Race people in turn got the power into their

hands, not by force, but rather by superior mental development

and cunning. They were not so warlike as the sixth Race, and they

were always smaller in number, but they knew more in many ways

than the sixth.

They were coming nearer to modern ideas; they had a more

definite sense of right and wrong; they were less fierce and more

law abiding; they had a definite policy and lived according to

it.

Their supremacy was entirely intellectual, and they

possessed to a high extent the art of combination. Their social

polity seems to have been something like that of ants or bees,

and in some ways they would compare favourably with many races of

the present.

It was in this Race that writing was first noticed as a

fairly common accomplishment. They knew something of art, for

they had both statues and pictures, though totally different in

every way from ours. They were also the first race that took the

trouble to make roads.

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CHAPTER XXXI

THE EARTH: THE FIRST ROOT-RACE

WE come now to the occupation of the Earth in the fourth round,

and will deal in this chapter with the first Root-Race.

As was mentioned in the preceding chapter, the special and

peculiar characteristic of the earlier races on the Earth in

this, the fourth round, is that the earlier races recapitulate

the first, second and third rounds. This is arranged specially

for the benefit of those entities who, though considerably behind

the rest, could by a special effort of this kind be helped to

overtake them.

The first Race was etheric, repeating the first round: the

second Race was of the ”pudding-bag” type, repeating the second

round: the third Race repeated the third round. The fourth Race

may be considered as the most typical of the fourth round as a

whole. These general principles will be elaborated and explained

more in detail as we come to consider each Race individually.

The Earth, at the beginning of the fourth round, is in a

condition of terrible turmoil; there are gigantic convulsions of

nature, the crash of falling mountains, the roar of volcanoes,

the dash of giant waves loaded with rocks, with avalanches of

lava, almost mountains, which they toss up as though in play.

Fire is breaking out everywhere, storm, whirlwind and tornado. It

recalls the first round in miniature, save that the greater

density of matter makes the crash and tumult far greater than

when the globes were more subtle in composition.

For 200 millions of years these convulsions go on

”uninterruptedly, after which they become periodical and at long

intervals” (Commentary, quoted in The Secret Doctrine, II, 230).

For 300 millions of years the nature spirits have been

busily at work, forming minerals, vegetables and animals of the

lower kinds. Out of the remnants of the three preceding rounds

they have taken the empty shells of forms and have tried to shape

them into new living organisms. The results are strange hybrid

monsters of all mixed kinds of generations, half human and half

animal. Reptilian forms of all sorts and kinds appear. They may

be said to have been produced by the ”prentice hand of nature,”

being the work of the lower Devas, the nature spirits, unassisted

by the guiding power of the Lords of the Moon.

When the incessant turmoil is nearing its ending, some of

the Lords of the Moon, or Barhishads, come to see if the earth is

ready for the making of man. All these lower forms are then swept

away, presumably in order to clear the way for man and higher

forms of life generally.

At one point, gradually, the first land appears, above the

vast ocean of heaving, tepid water. it is the peak of Mount Meru.

In some of the earlier literature this was described as the cap

of the North Pole. It is, however, understood that it is the cap,

not of the geographical, but of the spiritual Pole of the earth.

150

This is the imperishable Sacred Land-now in the Gobi desert. It

has been called also the Land of the Devas, Shvetadvîpa, the

White Island, the Central Land, and sometimes Jambudvipa, the

name given to the Earth as a whole.

The Parsis call it Airyana Vaejo, and rightly claim that

their great prophet Zarathrustra was born there.

From Mount Meru, the centre of that land, appear seven great

promontories, to the edges of which the name Pushkara is

sometimes given, though that name belongs more accurately to the

seventh continent-which of course has still to appear when the

time comes for the seventh Race.

Every human Race is born in this land, no matter: whither it

be led after its birth. The climate is described as that of an

exquisite spring.

The next stage of the process is described in the Book of

the Wisdom thus: The Order has gone forth: ”The great Chohans

called the Lords of the Moon, of the airy bodies: 'Bring forth

men, men of your nature. Give them their forms within. She will

build coverings without. Males-Females will they be. Lords of the

Flame also.' . . . They went each on his allotted land; seven of

them, each on his lot. . . . The Seven Hosts, the Will-born

Lords, propelled by the Spirit of Life-giving, separate men from

themselves, each on his own zone. Seven times seven shadows of

future men were born, each of his own colour and kind, each

inferior to his Father. The Fathers, the boneless, could give no

life to beings with bones. Their progeny were Bhûta, with neither

form nor mind. Therefore they are called the chhâya.”

The meaning of this is that the Lords of the Moon, the

Barhishad Pitris, descending on to the Imperishable Land,

separate from their own etheric bodies a chhâya, or shadow, a

seed of life, which contains within it the potentialities of

development into human form.

By an effort of will, they duplicated their own etheric

bodies, materialising, in fact, an additional etheric double,

making it permanent, and then stepping out of it.

The forms are huge, filamentous, sexless, empty bhûtas,

floating about in the dense atmosphere and in the seething seas.

To us they would appear as gigantic phantoms. They sway and drift

about; huge, indefinite, protista-like forms in etheric matter,

with changing outline; containing the seeds of all forms,

gathered up by the Barhishads during preceding evolutions, of a

moon-like colour, yellow-white of varying shades.

Within the class of Barhishads, who undertook this work,

there were seven distinct sub-classes, and each sub-class

populates one of the seven promontories, previously mentioned.

Further, each of the seven sub-classes, representing seven

grades of evolution, contained members of each of the seven

types, or ”rays,” hence the phrase ”seven times seven” in the

passage quoted.

The 49 varieties thus provided afforded the incoming

entities with appropriate vehicles suited to their varying stages

of growth and type.

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These protista-like forms oozed out from the etheric bodies

of the Barhishads, much as the etheric double may be seen oozing

out from the side of a medium ( vide The Etheric Double, p. 89)

and formed the bodies for the first human Race.

The forms themselves were not human, but into them came

entities who evolved as human beings.

These huge forms, as said, drifted about, senseless and

passive. The consciousness of the incoming entities, being on the

âtmic level, could affect but very slightly the clumsy bodies.

These showed only vaguely the sense of hearing, and a dim

consciousness of fire.

The Monads brood over the forms, their Rays warming them

into activity and shaping them into organs of communication with

the outer world. Hence, because of the lofty consciousness which

touches them, they are sometimes spoken of as the Race of the

Gods; also as sons of Yoga, because the Barhishads sent out their

chhâyas when immersed in yogic meditation. They have been called

also the self-born, because they were not born from human

parents. They are the second Adam of the Jewish scriptures.

The Barhishads, having given out their chhâyas, animated

them with their own energy, galvanised them, as it were, into

activity. The Sun itself helped by sending upon them his

vivifying fire in answer to the cry of the Ruler of the nature-

spirits for his help. [We may perhaps surmise that this means

that they absorbed prâna, or vitality, from the sun.] These

three-the Barhishads, the Sun and the nature-spirits-”produced by

their joint efforts a good rûpa (form). It could stand, walk,

run, recline or fly. Yet it was still but a chhâya, a shadow with

no sense” ( The Secret Doctrine , II, 18).

The presiding planet of the first Race was the Sun, or

rather the mystic planet Uranus, which he represents.

Multiplication of these beings was by fission or by budding,

the only methods of reproduction possible for them, as is the

case even to-day for the protista, their nearest physical

likeness. They expanded in size, and then divided, at first into

two equal halves, and at later stages into unequal portions, thus

budding off progeny smaller than themselves, progeny which grew

in its turn and again budded off its young.

In this Race no definite sub-races can be spoken of, though

there were seven stages of growth, or evolutionary stages.

Neither do they die; ”Neither fire nor water could destroy

them, ( The Secret Doctrine, II, 18); fire, in fact, was their

element, and of water they were unconscious.

We have already mentioned that they were developing the

sense of hearing.

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CHAPTER XXXII

THE EARTH: THE SECOND ROOT-RACE

DURING the ages of unknown length through which the first Race

lived, the earth was settling down into quieter conditions, and

cataclysms were local, no longer general. More land slowly

appeared above the surface of the watery desert, stretching out

from the promontories of the first continent, and forming a vast

horseshoe, the second continent, called the Hyperborean, or

Plaksha.

It occupied the area now called northern Asia, joining

Greenland and Kamschatka, and was bounded on the south by the

great sea which rolled where the Gobi desert now stretches its

wastes of sand. Spitzbergen formed part of it, together with

Sweden and Norway, and it extended south-westwards over the

British Isles. Baffin's Bay was then land, which included the

islands now existing there.

The climate was tropical, and richly luxuriant vegetation

clothed the sunny plains. We should not connect with the name

Hyperborean the associations now carried with it, for it was a

gladsome land, full of exuberant vitality. The name Hyperborean

took on its gloomy associations in later days, when the land had

been swept of its inhabitants by a change of climate, and broken

up by many cataclysms.

Some of the oldest known lands of the earth are remains of

the Hyperborean continent: these are Greenland, Iceland,

Spitzbergen, the most northerly parts of Norway and Sweden, and

the extreme north cape of Siberia.

When the time was ripe for the second Race to appear, the

nature-spirits built round the chhâyas denser particles of

matter, forming a kind of stiffer shell on the outside, and ”the

outer of the first became the inner of the second” ( The Secret

Doctrine, II, 18).

Thus imperceptibly the first Race vanished into, merged in,

and became the second, and the chhâya, which was all the body of

the first, became the etheric double of the second. The second

Race shows two marked types, responding slightly to the buddhic

consciousness. It shows the duality, which is characteristic of

that consciousness, coming out in its physical changes, as in its

two senses of hearing and touch, for the sense of touch was added

to the first Race sense of hearing.

As the Monad passed into the second Race, he thus added to

his physical plane consciousness the sense of touch, and began to

respond to the impact of water and air as well as of fire.

Faint, chant-like sounds issued from the nondescript forms

that represented humanity, open vowel-like sounds, inarticulate,

faintly indicating the stirrings of emotions moved from hidden

springs.

Such consciousness as there was belonged to above rather

than to below. There was dreamily quiet enjoyment, arising from

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within, but little sense of pleasure or pain, stimulated from

without. It was the Monadic consciousness, awake on the higher

planes but not on the lower, and the forms were but slightly

responsive, almost senseless, though more responsive than those

of the first Race.

This race was called Kimpurushas, the children of the Sun

and the Moon, ”the yellow Father and the White Mother” ( The

Secret Doctrine, II, 19), hence of fire and water; and they were

born under the planet Brihaspati or Jupiter.

Their colour was a golden-yellow, sometimes glowing almost

into orange, sometimes of palest lemon shades, and these

gorgeously-hued forms, filamentous, often tree-like in shape,

some approaching animal types, others semi-human in outline, very

heterogeneous in appearance, drifting, floating, gliding,

climbing, crying to each other in flute-like notes through the

splendid tropical forests, brilliantly green in the sunlight,

with flowering creepers starred with dazzling blossoms-all these

make a picture of gorgeous hues, the splendour nature in her

exuberant youth, running over with life, movement, colour,

outlines sketched in with a giant's hand, colours flung from an

overflowing palette.

Of the two types mentioned, the earlier showed no of trace

of sex, but multiplied by expansion and budding like the first

Race.

As the forms became harder, coated with a thicker shell of

earthy particles, this form of reproduction became impossible,

and small bodies were extruded from them, figuratively termed

”drops of sweat”, since they oozed out like sweat from the human

skin, viscid, opalescent; these gradually hardened, grew, and

took on various shapes.

There are many traces of this type of reproduction in the

Purânic stories, where it is stated that all races were born from

the pores of the skin of their ancestors. In process of time

slight indications of sexuality began to appear in these ”sweat-

born” of the second Race, and they showed within themselves

adumbrations of the two sexes, and hence are spoken of as

androgynes.

Study of the lower kingdoms to-day reveals all these stages

still persisting, and we realise how the nature-spirits have been

guided along a single plan, endlessly modified in details but

ever the same in principles.

From germs thrown off by these second Race ”men” the

mammalian kingdom was gradually developed in all its immense

variety of forms.

Animals below the mammals were shaped by nature-spirits from

the types elaborated in the third round, sometimes aided by human

emanations.

It will be recollected that, as a whole, the second Race was

a recapitulation of the second round, and that the forms in the

second round were those known as ”pudding-bags.” The second Root-

Race also had this curious formless pudding-bag appearance.

Both the first and the second Root-Races were evolving on

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the Earth before Mars was deserted, there being available for

these primitive conditions on the Earth some entities whom Mars

in its later stages was too advanced to accommodate.

Into these Races the Barhishads from Globe D of the Moon

Chain brought a number of backward entities who served as special

coaches for the laggards; many of the laggards repaid the special

care bestowed on them, and later on entered the first sub-race of

the third Root-Race, as its lowest type. They were known as egg-

headed; we shall come to them again when we reach the third Root-

Race, in the next chapter.

During the first and second Root-Races the population of the

Earth was very limited, and the special help, mentioned above,

appears to have been given to enable as many animals as possible

to be pushed on so that they could become human before the ”door

is shut” in the middle of the fourth Root-Race.

In addition, everything possible was being done to bring

forward all of whom anything could be made, before the coming of

the Lords of Venus in the middle of the third Root-Race.

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CHAPTER XXXIII

THE EARTH: THE THIRD ROOT-RACE

(LEMURIAN)

DURING the third Race, the Lemurian, known in Hindu literature as

the Dânavas, the process of recapitulating the first three rounds

was continued, all that had happened in the middle of the third

round being repeated in this third Race. This involved the

materialisation of men on to the physical plane, and their

separation into sexes. Before we study the process in detail,

however, we will first consider the physical conditions of the

earth itself.

The earth had been slowly changing. ”The great Mother

travailed under the waves . . . she travailed harder for the

third (Race), and her waist and navel appeared above the water.

It was the Belt, the sacred Himâvat, which stretches round the

world” ( The Secret Doctrine, II, 419).

The sea to the south of Plaksha covered the desert of Gobi,

Tibet and Mongolia, and from the southern waters of this the

Himalayan chain emerged. Slowly land appeared, from the foot of

the Himalayas, to Ceylon, Sumatra, Australia, Tasmania and Easter

Island; westwards to Madagascar and part of Africa; included also

were Norway, Sweden, East and West Siberia and Kamschatka. This

vast continent was Lemuria - the cradle of the Race in which

human intelligence was to appear. Its ancient name is Shâlmali.

The equatorial continent of Lemuria at the time of its

greatest expansion nearly girdled the globe, extending from the

site of the present Cape Verd Islands a few miles from the coast

of Sierra Leone, in a south-easterly direction through Africa,

Australia, the Society Islands and all the intervening seas, to a

point but a few miles distant from a great island continent -

about the size of the present South America - which spread over

the remainder of the Pacific Ocean, and included Cape Horn and

parts of Patagonia.

In the course of ages the vast continent undergoes many

disruptions, and is broken up into great islands. Norway sinks

and disappears. 700,000 years before the Eocene of the Tertiary

began there was a great outburst of volcanic fire, chasms opening

in the ocean floor, and Lemuria as a continent disappeared,

leaving only such fragments as Australia and Madagascar, with

Easter Island, submerged and again re-uplifted.

The destruction of Lemuria was brought about principally by

fire-volcanic action. It was raked by the burning ashes and the

red-hot dust from numberless volcanoes-these, together with a

great number of lakes and marshes, being characteristic of the

land surface. The Lemurians thus met their doom chiefly by fire

and suffocation-unlike the next Race, the Atlanteans, who

perished mostly by drowning. Another contrast between the

destruction of Lemuria and that of Atlantis was that while four

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great catastrophes completed the destruction of Atlantis, Lemuria

was eaten away by internal fires, the volcanic action being

incessant.

About the middle of the life of Lemuria, there took place

the great change of climate, which slew the remnants of the

second Race, together with their progeny, the early third Race.

”The axle of the wheel tilted. The Sun and Moon shone no longer

over the heads of that portion of the sweat-born; people knew

snow, ice, frost, and men, plants and animals were dwarfed in

their growth” ( The Secret Doctrine, II, 343- 344). The gorgeous

hues of the tropic faded away before the breath of the ice-king;

the polar days and nights of six months began, and for a while

the remnants of Plaksha showed but a scanty population. The

Imperishable Sacred Land, however, continued to exist as before.

Turning now to the Race itself, with its seven distinct sub-

races, we shall see that the many schemes of reproduction

characteristic of the third round re-appear in this third Race,

and in fact run simultaneously in various parts of the earth. The

bulk of the population passed through the successive stages and

eventually became oviparous or egg-bearing. It seems that the

various schemes of reproduction were suitable to egos at

different stages of evolution, the earlier ones being kept in

operation for the backward egos, after the bulk of the people had

passed beyond them.

These changes began some 164 million years ago, and occupied

5½ to 6 million years, physical bodies changing very slowly, and

reversion frequently taking place. Moreover the original number

was small and needed time for multiplication.

The separation of the sexes took place in the Secondary

Period, the third Race having then existed for 18 million years,

perhaps for much longer; for it began in the Jurassic period of

the Secondary, or Mesozoic age, the Reptilian Period, as it is

sometimes called.

When the oviparous type became stable, the egg was preserved

within the feminine body, and reproduction assumed the form which

still persists.

Whilst the Lemurian bodies were composed of gases, liquids

and solids, at first the gases and liquids pre-dominated, for as

yet their vertebrate structure had not solidified into bones such

as ours, and they could not, therefore, stand erect. Their bones

in fact were 2 pliable as the bones of infants now are. It was

not until the middle of the Lemurian period that man developed a

solid bony structure.

THE FIRST SUB-RACE

In the first sub-race, the method of reproduction was by

extrusion of soft, viscid bodies - the ”sweat” - whence they

derive their name of the ”sweat-born.” Within the body the sexes

scarcely showed at all.

The consciousness of the first sub-race showed a unity,

being in touch with Âtmâ only.

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As was mentioned in the preceding chapter, the Barhishads

from Globe D of the Moon Chain had brought into the first and

second Root-Races certain backward entities who served as special

coaches for the even more backward entities in those two Races.

Some of these benefited by the coaching and were brought into the

first sub-race of the third Root-Race, as its lowest types.

They were egg-headed, with an eye at the top of their heads,

a roll like a sausage representing a forehead, and prognathous

jaws.

The egg-headed type persisted for a very long time, but

became much modified in the later sub-races. Traces of it were

found even in the seventh sub-race.

After them, either in this sub-race or a little later (the

exact point is obscure) a very considerable number of egos, who

had developed their basket-work causal bodies into complete

causal bodies on Mars, began to come in. These took the lead in

the Earth humanity, preparing the way for the more advanced egos

who were soon to arrive from the Moon Chain. This was the group

that had fought the ”water-men, terrible and bad” on Mars.

Diagram XL illustrates the third Root-Race and numerous

groups of entities who incarnated in it.

THE SECOND SUB-RACE

In the second sub-race, the exuded bodies hardened: ”the

drops become hard and round. The Sun warmed it; the Moon cooled

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and shaped it; the wind fed it until its ripeness” ( The Secret

Doctrine, II, 20). The soft bodies thus gradually became

encrusted, the outer covering of the envelope hardening, and took

the form of eggs, the ovum, which from that time to the present

day is the natal home of the germ. Within the egg the forms

gradually evolved into definitely androgynous creatures,

distinctly human in type. These are called sons of passive Yoga,

because they seem so abstracted from outer things.

The consciousness of the second sub-race exhibited a

duality, being in touch with Âtmâ-Buddhi.

In The Pedigree of Man, the first two sub-races are spoken

of collectively as the ”early third”; they were born under

Shûkra, or Venus, and under this influence they were evolved into

hermaphrodites. The races separated under Lohitanga, or Mars, who

is the embodiment of Kâma, the passion-nature.

THE THIRD SUB-RACE

In the third sub-race, the creature developed within the

envelope, which was now a shell, and which became thinner and

thinner, and evolved double sex organs. When born, by the

breaking of the envelope, it was fully developed, like the

chicken of the present day, and able to walk and run.

These were hermaphrodites; later, hermaphrodites with one

sex predominating. Still later, they developed into uni-sexual

beings.

They, together with the fourth sub-race, have been called

the Lords of the Wisdom, a name which, however, properly belongs

to a certain class of Barhishads who, as we shall see presently,

came into them and used them as vehicles, in order to evolve,

from the best third sub-race, bodies suitable for the fourth sub-

race, in which sexes would be definitely separated.

The consciousness of the third sub-race was a triplicity,

being in touch with Âtmâ-Buddhi-Manas.

Like all the forms then on earth, the third sub-race man was

gigantic in bulk, compared with his present size. He was the

contemporary of the pterodactyl, the megalosaurus, and other

gigantic animals, and had to hold his own among them.

Organs of vision were evolved in the third Root-Race; at

first there was the single eye in the middle of the forehead -

later called the third eye - and then the two eyes. But the two

eyes were little used by third Root-Race men until the seventh

sub-race; and they did not become the normal organs of vision

until the next Root-Race - the fourth.

This ”third” eye, developed under the influence of the

Monad, possessed far greater powers of vision than the two later

eyes, or, more accurately, offered less obstruction to the

perceptive power of the Monad. But, as the Monad drew back before

the intellect, the physical triumphed, and the two feeble organs

of vision, which we call eyes, were gradually developed, these

being greater obstacles to the Monad's power of perception, but

yet giving a sharper definition of objects, and so leading to a

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keener vision than before.

The ”third” eye gave impressions of the physical in the mass

rather than in detail, and the temporary closing-in was the way

to clearer sight.

Third Race men who possessed the ”third” eye, although

apparently savages in form, were none the less intuitional,

responding quickly to the impulses sent out by the Divine Kings

(who will be described presently).

The atrophied remnant of the third eye is now known as the

pineal gland. This is now a centre solely of astral vision, but

to the Lemurians it was the chief centre not only of astral but

of physical sight. This psychic vision continued to be an

attribute of the race not only throughout the whole of the

Lemurian period, but well into the days of Atlantis - fourth

Root-Race.

The first and second Root-Races, not being physical, had no

need to produce a series of sounds in order to convey their

thoughts; but when man became in the third Race physical, he

could not for long remain dumb. The sounds which the primitive

men made to express their thoughts were at first composed

entirely of vowels. In the first two sub-races it consisted of

mere cries of pleasure and pain, of love and anger; in the third

sub-race it became monosyllabic, and in fact in Lemuria never

reached beyond that stage, the consonant sounds gradually coming

into use. The Chinese of to-day is the sole great lineal

descendant of Lemurian speech, for ”the whole human race was at

that time of one language and of one lip” ( The Secret Doctrine,

II, 208).

THE FOURTH SUB-RACE

We come now to the fourth sub-race. But the student should

understand that the development of one sub-race from the

preceding one is a very gradual process, extending over a long

period of time, so that it is often difficult to draw a sharp

line of division between one sub-race and the succeeding one.

It will be recollected that the third sub-race had been

brought up to the point where eggs were being laid, this being a

stage in the whole process of the complete separation of the

sexes, a process which, as already said, occupied some 5½ to 6

million years.

To some of the eggs very special treatment was applied. They

were taken away by the Lords of the Moon, and were carefully

magnetised and kept at an equable temperature, until the human

form, at this stage a hermaphrodite, as just said, broke out. It

was then specially fed and carefully developed, and, when ready,

was taken possession of by one of the Lords of the Moon, Many of

these Barhishads thus incarnated in order to work on the physical

plane, and for a long period of time they used these carefully

prepared bodies. This seems to have been only a few centuries

before the separation of the sexes.

By the end of the fourth sub-race, the young creature

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emerging from the egg could no longer walk, having become

steadily more and more helpless at birth.

The human embryo still reproduces the stages which have been

described; it shows the amoeba-like form of the first Race; the

filamentoid form of the second Race; the sexlessness of the early

stages passes into an androgynous state, and then slowly male or

female predominates, determining the sex, as in the third Race.

It should also be noted that the traces of sex-duality never

disappear, even in maturity, the male retaining the rudimentary

organs of the female, the female of the male.

These varied modes of reproduction are preserved in some of

the Hindu myths; thus, in the account of the sacrifice of Daksha,

various modes are given: ”From the egg, from the vapour,

vegetation, pores of the skin, and, finally, only, from the womb”

( The Secret Doctrine, II, 193, quoting the Vâyu Purâna).

While the later Egg-borns - as they have been called - were

in possession, the very best of the basket-works - probably those

from Globes A and B of the Moon Chain - came in. These were

quickly followed by the lowest of those who had gained complete

causal bodies on the Moon (Moon-Men of the First Order). Between

the best of the basket-works and the lowest of those with

complete causal bodies there was but little difference.

Of those with complete causal bodies, we can distinguish 5

batches or boat-loads.

(1) Those from Globes G, F and E of the Moon Chain, the

majority being from Globe G, the least evolved of the three sets.

(2) A large number from Globe G, a low section from Globe F,

and a still lower section from Globe E.

(3) The best from Globe G, some fairly good ones from Globe

F, some good ones from Globe E.

(4) The best from Globe F, and all but the very best from

Globe E.

(5) The best from Globe E, with a few from Globe D (the Moon

itself).

These were sorted out by stage of growth rather than by

type, for they were, in fact, of all types. Amongst them one was

noticed who had individualised through fear. Altogether there

were some hundreds of thousands of these egos, incarnating among

the Egg-born.

It was mentioned above that some of the Barhishads came and

incarnated on the Earth. For this purpose they took the best

forms available from what is called in The Pedigree of Man the

”middle” third, i.e., the third and fourth sub-races. These

incarnated Barhishads were called the Divine Androgynes, or the

Divine Hermaphrodites. They moulded their forms into divinest

beauty, towering giants, splendid in figure and feature. With

their coming, and the subsequent separation of the sexes, ended

the Satya Yuga of the Earth.

These Divine Androgynes were of a glorious red-gold hue,

indescribably glowing and splendid, the glory of their general

aspect being enhanced by the single eye that flashed like a jewel

from its dazzling setting. The earthen reds of the crude and

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clumsy forms of the first men and women, after the separation of

the sexes, compare very unfavourably with the forms of the Divine

Androgynes.

Gigantic in height and correspondingly broad, they give the

impression of tremendous power, as far beyond the men of our own

generation as the Anoplatheridæ and Palæotheridæ, which surround

them in their later days, are beyond the oxen, deer, and pigs,

and the horses, tapirs and rhinoceroses that have descended from

them.

The men who followed them, with retreating forehead, the

dully lurid eye, glowing redly over the flattened nose, the

projecting heavy jaws, offer a repulsive appearance, according to

modern tastes.

The memory of the ”third” eye of course persisted in the

Grecian story of the one-eyed Cyclops - as the one-eyed were

called in later days - and of Ulysses, a man of the fourth Root-

Race, slaying a Cyclops of the third Root-Race, who had a central

eye.

Under the guidance of the Divine Androgynes, who ruled as

Divine Kings, this sub-race built mighty cities, huge cyclopean

temples, mighty and massive, built so that fragments still

remain. They built Shamballah itself, the Holy City, the Sacred

Dwelling-place, which still stands unshaken, a witness to the

skill that planned and the strength that built.

About 1O or 11 million years ago, as we have seen, the

separation of the sexes was fully established, and a reasonable

continuity of form had been achieved. A number of special efforts

were then made, by the Authorities in charge, to consolidate

humanity and set it definitely on its way to the higher spiritual

advancement which lay before it on the upward arc of the chain.

It will be recollected that the precise middle point of the whole

chain will be the middle of the next Race - the fourth; so now we

find preparations for the second or upward half of the chain

being made slightly before the exact middle point.

The first step in this preparation was a repetition, by the

Lords of the Moon, of the chhâya episode, which was described in

the chapter dealing with the first Race. For, after giving their

chhâyas for the first Race, the Barhishads left the earth,

ascending to Mahâloka for a while. ”Having projected their

shadows and made men of one element, the Projenitors re-ascend to

Mahâloka; whence they descend periodically, when the world is

renewed, to give birth to new men” ( The Secret Doctrine, II, 16).

As before, there were seven of them, ”each on his own lot,” in

order to provide vehicles for the seven great types or rays of

men.

The other entities of lower race, who were just being

brought down to the physical level, eagerly seized upon these

etheric ”shadows” or vehicles, entered them and tried to use

them. Not being fully adapted to them, they found it difficult to

maintain their position, and were constantly slipping out. As

soon as this happened, some other entity would seize the etheric

body, and slip into it as though it were an overcoat, only

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presently to find it slipping from him in turn, and to see it

seized by somebody else.

The scene recalls the Greek idea that the Gods made the

world amid shouts of laughter, for it decidedly had its comic

element, as the egos struggled for the forms and could not manage

them when they had obtained them. This is one of the ”descents

into matter” the final materialisation of the body of man, the

completion of the ”fall of man.”

Many of these etheric doubles were made, and by degrees the

less developed people, becoming accustomed to their new ”coats of

skin,” learnt how to inhabit them permanently, so that the

process of further materialisation could be undertaken.

In this way gradually bodies were produced which served to

express the seven great types and their sub- types, and the

people settled down to reproduce them steadily. In various parts

of the world other ways of reproduction continued for long

periods of time; the successive stages overlapped very much,

owing to the great differences in evolution.

The tribes that followed the early methods of reproduction

gradually became sterile, while the true men and women multiplied

greatly, until humanity, as we now know it, was definitely

established all over the world.

Other classes of egos continued to come into incarnation -

those from other rounds, who had not been in the first or second

Root-Races on the Earth.

At this stage there were 5 human classes, pressing on each

other to obtain better human forms. Commencing with the most

primitive, these were:

(1) Those who were only now coming up from the animal

kingdom.

(2) Those with line causal bodies, who had been on the Earth

for some time.

(3) Basket-works from Mars.

(4) The best basket-works from the Inter-Chain Nirvana.

(5) The 5 classes previously enumerated, who had complete

causal bodies, having come from Globes G, F and E of the Moon

Chain.

The forms as thrown off by the Lords of the Moon were fairly

good-looking, but being etheric they were readily modifiable, and

the incoming egos much distorted them. The bodies of the children

of these entities were by no means equal to those of their

fathers, but were distinctly ugly; probably those using them were

accustomed to think of the egg-shaped head and sausage-roll

forehead, and hence these forms re-appeared. Nevertheless certain

types were established, and however much the forms deteriorated

they were still habitable.

After many generations of well-established human beings,

descended from the etheric materialised forms, had been evolved,

the Barhishads brought down, to take possession of the bodies

thus fashioned, those egos who had individualised on Globes A, B

and C of the Moon Chain.

There were three batches of these: (1) More than 2 million

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of the orange group from Globe A; (2) rather less than 3 million

of the yellow group from Globe B; (3) rather more than 3 million

of the pink group from Globe C. Say about 9 millions in all. They

were guided to different areas of the world's surface, with the

view that they should form tribes.

Then a curious thing happened. ”One-third refuses; two-

thirds obey.” The orange group of egos; on seeing the bodies

offered to them, refused to enter, not out of any wickedness, but

from sheer pride, disdaining the unattractive forms, and also

perhaps from their ancient hatred of sexual unions.

The yellow and pink groups, however, were docile, and

obeyed, gradually improving the bodies they inhabited. Thus was

made the fourth Lemurian sub-race. This was the first which was

in any sense, except the embryonic, human; and it may be dated

from the giving of the forms by the Barhishads.

In The Secret Doctrine H. P. Blavatsky speaks of this fourth

sub-race as ”yellow,” apparently from the colour of the incoming

yellow egos from Globe B of the Moon Chain. The sub-race itself

was black, this colour persisting for some time into later sub-

races, as we shall see presently.

The descendants of these monsters, having through long

centuries dwindled in size and become more densely physical,

culminated in a race of Apes in the Miocene period, from which

are descended the pithecoids of to-day. With these apes the

Atlanteans (fourth Race) renewed the ”sin of the mindless”- this

time with full responsibility, the results being the Apes we know

as Anthropoid ( vide The Secret Doctrine, II, 728).

It seems that these anthropoids will obtain human

incarnation in the coming sixth Root-Race, doubtless in the

bodies of the lowest races then existing on earth.

The area allotted to the orange group was thus left vacant.

The bodies, which they should have used, were gladly seized upon

by the entities just emerging from the animal kingdom, the very

lowest human type. The consequence of this was, that instead of

maintaining the advancement which had been gained by so much

effort, the forms were allowed to drop back again into a

condition even worse than before. The primitive humans inhabiting

the forms even intermingled with some of the animal forms, quite

naturally feeling little difference between themselves and the

ranks from which they had only just emerged.

This was what H. P. Blavatsky called the ”sin of the

mindless,” and the result of it was various types of anthropoid

apes.

The Book of Dzyan thus graphically describes the episode

just mentioned:

”During the Third, the boneless animals grew and changed;

they became animals with bones, their Chhâyas became solid.

”The animals separated the first. They began to breed. The

two-fold man separated also. He said: 'Let us as they; let us

unite and make creatures.' They did.

”And those which had no Spark took huge she-animals unto

them. They begat upon them dumb races. Dumb they were themselves.

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But their tongues untied. The tongues of their progeny remained

still. Monsters they bred. A race of crooked red-hair-covered

monsters going on all fours. A dumb race to keep the shame

untold.

”Seeing which, the Lhas who had not built men, wept, saying:

”'The Amanasa [mindless] have defiled our future abodes.

This is Karma. Let us dwell in others. Let us teach them better,

lest worse should happen.' They did.”

”Then all men became endowed with Manas. They saw the sin of

the mindless.”

The karma of the refusal of the orange group of egos to take

their due place in the work of peopling the world was that, later

on, they were forced into incarnation and had to take even lower

and coarser bodies, the Lords of the Moon having by that time

gone on to other work. They thus became a backward race, cunning

but not good; and passed through many unpleasant experiences.

They diminished in number by constantly coming into collision

with the common order, and being hammered; largely by suffering,

into ordinary folk.

A few, strong, remorseless and unscrupulous, became Lords of

the Dark Face in Atlantis (as we shall see when we come to deal

with the fourth Race). Some were seen among the North American

Indians with refined but hard faces; some few still persist, even

down to our own day; by nature they are ”turbulent and

aggressive, independent and separative, prone to discontent and

eager for change.” They are the unscrupulous among the kings of

finance, statesmen like Bismarck, conquerors like Napoleon. But

they are gradually disappearing, for they have teamed many bitter

lessons.

Those who are wanting in heart, who are always fighting,

always opposing everything everywhere, on general principles,

must ultimately be beaten into shape; a very few may end in black

magic, but the steady pressure is too great for the majority.

THE FIFTH SUB-RACE

The Barhishads from Globes A, B and C of the Moon Chain now

came into incarnation, to help the Manu in 1 founding the fifth,

sixth and seventh sub-races. In these later sub-races the

Barhishads became Kings - the King-Initiates of the myths - which

are often truer than history.

A King-Initiate would gather a number of persons round Him,

forming a clan, and then would teach this clan some of the arts

of civilisation, and direct and help them in the building of a

city. One large city was erected under such instruction on what

is now the island of Madagascar, and many others were similarly

built in other parts of the Lemurian continent. The style of

architecture was cyclopean, impressive by its hugeness.

During the long period thus occupied, the physical

appearance of the Lemurians was changing. The central eye at the

top of the head was retreating, as it ceased to function, to the

interior of the head, to form the pineal gland, while the two

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eyes - at first one on each side of it - were becoming active.

The Greek legend of the Cyclops, as previously mentioned, is

evidently a tradition from the early Lemurian age.

There was some domestication of animals, some of these being

scaly monsters, almost as unattractive as their masters.

Animals of all sorts were eaten raw, some tribes even not

despising human flesh. Creatures of our grades of slugs, snails

and worms, much larger than their degenerate descendants, were

regarded with peculiar favour as toothsome morsels.

Generally speaking the description of a third-round man

would fit aptly enough the man of this fifth Lemurian sub-race.

They have often been spoken of as the egg-headed people, from the

resemblance of their skulls to an egg with the small end up. They

had still but little forehead, and the eyes, as said, were set

near the top of the egg.

They were black or brown-black.

The fifth, sixth and seventh sub-races of the Lemurian Race

were much more what we should now call human than their

predecessors had been.

The following is an abridged description of a Lemurian of

one of the later sub-races - probably the fifth. ”His stature was

gigantic, between 12 and 15 feet. His skin was very dark,

yellowish brown. He had a long lower jaw, a strangely flattened

face, eyes small but piercing and set curiously far apart, so

that he could see sideways as well as in front, while the eye at

the back of the head enabled him to see in that direction also.

Instead of a forehead he had a roll of flesh, the head sloping

backwards and upwards. Arms and legs, especially arms, were

longer in proportion than ours, and could not be perfectly

straightened at elbows or knees. Hands and feet were enormous,

the heels projecting backwards. The figure was draped in a loose

robe of skin, something like rhinoceros hide, but more scaly.

Round the head, on which the hair was short, was twisted another

piece of skin to which were attached tassels of bright red, blue

and other colours. In his left hand he held a sharpened staff,

about 12 or 15 feet long. In his right hand was twisted the end

of a long rope made of a creeping plant, by which he led a huge

and hideous reptile, somewhat resembling the Plesiosaurus. The

appearance of the man gave an unpleasant sensation; but he was

not entirely uncivilised, being an average commonplace specimen

of his day., Many were even less human than the individual here

described.

THE SIXTH SUB-RACE

The men of the sixth sub-race were remarkable chiefly for

their colour. They were no longer black or brown-black like the

fifth sub-race; but blue-black, shading towards the end of the

race into a distinct but rather livid blue.

They still showed a trace of egg-headedness, due to the

retreating forehead.

While the sixth sub-race was developing, a large number of

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Initiates and their disciples were sent off from the Inter-Chain

Nirvana to the Earth, to help the Manu of the fourth Root-Race by

incarnating in the best bodies He had so far evolved. The very

best bodies were given to those who had exhausted their karma,

their occupants being consequently able to improve them, and to

get out of them everything which they were capable of yielding.

These Arhats and their pupils worked under the Barhishads and the

Manus of the third and fourth Root-Races, the seventh sub-race

being evolved by their help.

THE SEVENTH SUB-RACE

The seventh sub-race, beginning as grey-blue, passed down

through various greyish shades into a kind of grey-white. A fair

idea of the type of their faces may be obtained from the statues

which they themselves erected, some few of which still remain

upon Easter Island. These statues, most of them about 27 feet

high and 8 feet across the shoulders, were probably intended to

represent both the features and the height of those who carved

them, or possibly of their ancestors, for it was probably in the

later ages of the Lemuro-Atlanteans that the statues were

erected. The faces were long and horse-like, the tip of the nose

being at first above the centre, and at the end of the race

exactly in the centre, of a line drawn from the top of the

forehead to the chin.

The forehead was still a mere roll of bone, though growing a

little higher towards the end of the sub-race.

Like the sixth sub-race, they still exhibited a trace of

egg-headedness, owing to the retreating forehead.

They had thick clumsy lips, and broad and flat noses,

characteristics which have survived in a less aggravated form

among the negroes, who are perhaps now their nearest

representatives.

The stature had perceptibly decreased, and the appearance of

hands, feet and limbs had become more like those of negroes of

to-day. The men of the later sixth and seventh sub-races were

great builders in a rough cyclopean fashion, and they had also a

certain rude idea of art. They developed an important and long-

lasting civilisation, and for thousands of years dominated most

of the other tribes who dwelt on the vast Lemurian continent, and

even at the end, when racial decay seemed to be overtaking them,

they secured another long lease of life and power by inter-

marriage with the Rmoahals, the first Atlantean sub-race. The

progeny, while retaining many third Race characteristics, really

belonged to the fourth Race, and thus acquired fresh power of

development. Their appearance now became not unlike that of some

American Indians, except that their skin had a curious bluish

tinge not now to be seen.

The first cities were built on that extended mountainous

region which included the present Island of Madagascar. Another

great city is described in The Secret Doctrine, II, 331, as

having been built entirely of blocks of lava. It lay some 30

167

miles west of the present Easter Island and was subsequently

destroyed by a series of volcanic eruptions.

No race of pure Lemurian blood now exists; though the

pigmies of Central Africa appear to represent a long-isolated

fragment of the fourth sub-race; decreased to their present

stature during millions of years in accordance with that curious

law which appears to impose diminution of size upon the last

relics of a dying race.

Most negro tribes have a considerable admixture of

Atlantean, or fourth Race, blood; in the case of the Zulus, for

example, we have in general build and bearing a close

representative of the second Sub-race of the Atlanteans, the

Tlavatli, although the colour and some of the faces are Lemurian.

Degraded remnants of the third Race may be recognised also

in the aborigines of Australia, the Andaman Islanders, some hill

tribes of India, the Tierra-del-Fuegians, the Bushmen of Africa,

and some other savage tribes. The entities now inhabiting these

bodies must have belonged to the animal kingdom of this chain.

There existed in Lemuria a Lodge of Initiation, but it was

not primarily for the benefit of the Lemurians. Such of them as

were sufficiently advanced were; it is true; taught by the Adept

Gurus; but the instruction they required was limited to the

explanation of a few physical phenomena, such as the movement of

the earth round the sun; or the reason for the different

appearance which physical objects assumed when viewed alternately

by physical and by astral sight. The Lodge, however, was intended

primarily for those entities who had come from Venus and who,

while helping to direct evolution on the earth, were at the same

time pursuing their own evolutionary development.

168

CHAPTER XXXIV

THE COMING OF THE LORDS OF VENUS

WE come now to describe the most dramatic moment in the history

of the Earth - the Coming of the Lords of the Flame; an event for

which long preparations had been made.

The Barhishads and the Manu of the Third Race had done all

that was possible to bring entities up to the point at which the

germ of mind could be quickened, and the descent of the ego could

be made. All the laggards had been pushed on; there were no more

in the animal kingdom capable of rising into the human. The

”door” would be ”shut” against further immigrants from the animal

into the human kingdom only when there were in sight no more

candidates capable of reaching the human level; without a

repetition of the tremendous impulse which can be given once only

in the evolution of a Scheme, at its midmost point.

A great astrological event, when a very special collocation

of planets occurred and the magnetic condition of the Earth was

the most favourable possible, was chosen as the time. It was 16½

million years ago. Nothing remained to be done, save what only

They could do.

Then, ”with the mighty roar of swift descent from

incalculable heights; surrounded by blazing masses of fire which

filled the sky with shooting tongues of flame, flashed through

the aerial spaces the chariot of the Sons of the Fire, the Lords

of the Flame from Venus; it halted, hovering over the White

Island, which lay in the Gobi Sea; green was it, and radiant with

masses of fragrant blossoms, Earth offering her best and fairest

to welcome her coming King” - the great Being known as the King

of the World, the Sanat Kumâra, with his three Assistants, and

the remainder of His band of helpers.

In Chapter XIX this band has already been described, and

also most of what is known of the King and His work in this

world. It is necessary, therefore, only to recapitulate and

amplify what has already been said, with special reference to the

epoch of the world's history with which we are now dealing.

The Secret Doctrine, as we saw, spoke of Them as projecting

the spark of mind into the mindless men and awakening the

intellect within them. The meaning of this is that They acted as

a magnetic stimulus; They shone upon the people as the sun shines

upon flowers, and drew them up towards Themselves, thus enabling

them to develop the latent spark and to become individualised.

H. P. Blavatsky mentioned some of the ”sons of mind, as

incarnating among the people whom they were trying to help. The

Lords of the Flame did not Themselves incarnate among men in the

ordinary way; H. P. Blavatsky was here referring to the

Barhishads who did enter into ordinary human bodies and so for a

time became part of the race.

But for the help kindly given to us by these great Leaders,

the world would have been a very different place to-day. Without

169

Them not only would millions, who became human under the impetus

which They gave, be still in the animal kingdom, but all the rest

of humanity would be far behind the position in which it now

stands.

The fourth round being especially destined to the

development of the desire-principle in man, it is only in the

next or fifth round that man is intended to devote himself to the

unfolding of the intellect. Owing, however, to the stimulus given

by the Lords of the Flame, the intellect has already been

considerably developed, and we are therefore a whole round in

advance of where we should have been but for Their help.

We also saw previously that They brought to the Earth bees,

ants and wheat.

Until the Coming of the Lords of the Flame the batches or

ship-loads from the Inter-Chain Nirvana had arrived separately,

but now fecundity increased rapidly, like everything else, and

large fleets were needed to bring in egos to inhabit the bodies.

These came pouring in, while others of lower types took

possession of all the animals with the germs of mind who were

individualised at the Coming, the Lords of the Flame thus doing

in a moment for millions what we now do by long care for units.

The Lords of the Flame arrived on the Earth about the middle

of the third Root-Race, after the separation of the sexes.

Diagram XL illustrates the Coming in its relation to other

events.

It is part of the plan of the Logos that at a certain stage

in its evolution humanity must begin to guide itself, instead of

being dependent upon entities from other evolutions. Therefore

all future Buddhas, Manus and Adepts will be members of our own

humanity, the Lords from Venus having gone on to other worlds.

It may be noted here that the number of Adepts or Masters

who retain physical bodies in order to help the evolution of the

world is at present perhaps some 50 or 6O in all.

170

CHAPTER XXXV

THE FOURTH (ATLANTEAN) ROOT-RACE: THE

RMOAHAL

THERE is available a good deal of information regarding the

Fourth or Atlantean Root-Race, the classic book on the subject,

for our purposes, being The Story of Atlantis and Lost Lemuria,

by W Scott-Elliott. This book contains also four maps, covering

roughly the following periods:

Map I from about 1,OOO,000 to 800,000 years ago.

Map II from about 800,000 to 200,000 years ago.

Map III from about 200,000 to 75,025 years ago.

Map IV from about 75,025 to 9,564 B.C.

During the first map period, Atlantis extended from a few

degrees east of Iceland to about the site now occupied by Rio de

Janeiro; it embraced Texas, the Gulf of Mexico, the Southern and

Eastern States of America, Labrador, and the area from there to

Ireland, Scotland and a small portion of the north of England. It

reached also from Brazil to the African Gold Coast.

The second map period shows the distribution of land after

the first great catastrophe about 800,000 years ago, in the

Miocene Age. Much of the north of the continent was submerged,

and the rest much rent. The growing American continent was

separated by a chasm from the remainder of Atlantis, which then

occupied the bulk of the Atlantic basin, from about 50º N. Lat.

to a few degrees south of the equator. Considerable subsidences

and upheavals in other parts of the world also took place, the

British Isles, for example, forming part of a huge island

embracing the Scandinavian peninsula, the north of France, all

the intervening and some of the surrounding seas.

The third map period shows the land surface after the

second catastrophe about 200,000 years ago, this catastrophe,

however, being relatively much smaller than the first one.

Atlantis proper was mow split into a northern island called Ruta,

and a southern called Daitya. The future North and South America

were separated from one another, Egypt was submerged, and the

Scandinavian island was joined to the future Europe.

The fourth map period shows the land surface after the

stupendous convulsion which took place in 75,025 B.C. Daitya

almost entirely disappeared, Ruta was reduced to the

comparatively small island of Poseidonis, about the centre of the

Atlantic ocean. The land surface was then roughly as it is to-

day, though the British Isles were still joined to Europe, the

Baltic Sea was non-existent, and the Sahara desert was still

ocean.

In 9,564 B.C. Poseidonis was finally submerged.

The Troano MS., which appears to have been written about

3,500 years ago, among the Mayas of Yucatan, translated by Le

Plongeon, gives the following description of the submergence of

171

Poseidonis:

”In the year 6 Kan, on the 11th Muluc in the month Zac,

there occurred terrible earthquakes, which continued without

interruption until the 13th Chuen. The country of the hills of

mud, the land of Mu was sacrificed: being twice upheaved it

suddenly disappeared during the night, the basin being

continually shaken by volcanic forces. Being confined, these

caused the land to sink and to rise several times and in various

places. At last the surface gave way and ten countries were torn

asunder and scattered. Unable to stand the force of the

convulsions, they sank with their 64,000,000 of inhabitants 8,060

years before the writing of this book.”

In addition to the four great catastrophes mentioned, there

were many other minor ones.

The initiated kings and priests, who followed the ”good

law,” were aware beforehand of the impending calamities. Each

one, therefore, became a centre of prophetic warning, and

ultimately the leader of a band of colonists. The names of the 7

sub-races are as follows:

(1) Rmoahal.

(2) Tlavatli.

(3) Toltec.

(4) Turanian.

(5) Original Semites.

(6) Akkadian.

(7) Mongolian.

With the exception of the first two, the names chosen have

been those given by ethnologists to traces of these sub-races, or

parts of them, which they have found. The first two are given the

names by which they called themselves.

THE FIRST SUB-RACE: THE RMOAHAL.

The Sanat Kumâra, the Head of the Hierarchy, began, almost

immediately after His coming, to make arrangements for the

founding of the fourth Root-Race. Accordingly, the fourth Race

Manu selected the smallest, densest and best of the Lemurians,

[from the fourth sub-race ?] at the time when they were under the

guidance of the King-Initiates, and arranged for suitable egos to

incarnate in the bodies they provided.

Much difficulty seems to have been experienced, tribes being

segregated, their members intermarrying for long periods, the

best being then selected and paired off with the best of another

segregated party. The Manu and His disciples also incarnated in

order to improve the physical type. It will be remembered that a

number of Initiates and their disciples, from the Inter-Chain

Nirvana, had incarnated in the Lemurian sixth sub-race, and that

they had greatly improved the bodies of that sub-race. These

improved bodies also the Manu used for His purposes, a large

number of developed entities thus taking the lead and pressing

172

things forward.

Finally, the Manu took the bodies of the Lemurian seventh

sub-race (bluish-white), improved by the Initiates using them, as

the nucleus of His first sub-race - the Rmoahal. Only this group

of Initiates and their disciples came into these bodies at first,

there being none taken from those who had previously been

evolving on the Earth Chain.

The colony of seventh sub-race people was settled on land

represented at present by Ashanti and Western Nigeria, which was

then a promontory to the north-west of the island-continent which

embraced the Cape of Good Hope and parts of Western Africa. The

colony was guarded for generations from admixture with a lower

type, and increased in numbers until it was ready to receive the

new impulse to physical heredity which the Manu was destined to

impart.

The Manu had eliminated the blue from the colour of His

people, passing through purple into red, and then, by mixing in

the blue-white of the Lemurian seventh sub-race, obtained a type

for the Rmoahals which we should call fully human, and that we

could imagine as living among ourselves.

About a million years were spent in establishing the race-

type, stupendous care and trouble having been taken to reach a

fair resemblance to the type given to the Manu to produce. Then

He may be said to have definitely founded the Race, He himself

taking incarnation, and calling His disciples to take bodies in

His own family, His posterity thus forming the Race. The Manu of

a Race is, in the most literal sense, its Progenitor, for the

whole Race has its Manu as its physical ancestor.

Even the Manu's immediate descendants, however, were not

very attractive in appearance, although a vast improvement on the

surrounding population. They were smaller than these, but had no

nervous organisation worth speaking of, and their astral bodies

were shapeless. He Himself moulded and shaped His physical body

after His own astral and mental bodies, modifying the pigment in

the skin until it became more nearly the colour designed for the

Race.

After this many generations passed before the young Race

took possession of its continent, Atlantis, but from this point

onwards batches of egos began to come in from the Inter-Chain

Nirvana, to inhabit the Fourth Race bodies.

We may note here that the Manu of the fourth Root-Race was

one of the Adepts from Venus.

173

It is convenient at this point to indicate the method by

which a Root-Race is developed from its predecessor. The general

principle seems to be that a Root-Race is developed from the

numerically-corresponding sub-race of the preceding Root-Race.

Thus, the fourth Root-Race should, by the rule, have been

developed from the fourth sub-race of the third Root-Race; the

fifth Root-Race was developed from the fifth sub-race of the

fourth Root-Race; whilst the sixth Root-Race will be developed

from the sixth sub-race of the fifth Root-Race. Diagram XLI

illustrates the process.

In the case of the fourth Root-Race, however:, it seems that

it was not until the time of the seventh Lemurian sub-race that

humanity was sufficiently developed physiologically to warrant

the final choice of individuals fit to become parents of the new

Root-Race.

The Rmoahal race came into existence between 4 and 5 million

years ago. Much of Lemuria still existed, and Atlantis had not

yet become as large as it eventually became. The Rmoahal race was

born about Lat. 7º N. and Long. 5º W., at a place which is now

the Ashanti coast. It was a hot, moist country, where huge

antediluvian animals lived in reedy swamps and dank forests; the

fossil remains of such plants are now in our coal seams.

The race was at first mahogany black in colour. They were

about 1O or 12 feet in height, their stature dwindling gradually

through the centuries. They ultimately migrated to the southern

shores of Atlantis, where they fought with the Lemurian sixth and

seventh sub-races. Some of them settled down and inter-married

with the black Lemurians. Others reached the extreme north-

eastern promontories contiguous with Iceland; here they gradually

became lighter in colour, and about a million years ago were

tolerably fair.

Their occupation of these northern lands was not unbroken,

because at intervals they were driven south by glacial epochs. A

minor glacial epoch occurs about every 30,000 years; in addition,

there are major epochs, one of which was in process about 3

million years ago.

The Rmoahals, being the children of the new Race, were

themselves incapable of developing any plan of settled

government, nor did they reach even as high a point of

civilisation as the Lemurian sixth and seventh sub-races. They

were ruled, therefore, by the Manu Himself, or by other Adept or

Divine Rulers.

The brachycephalous, or round-headed specimen known as the

”Furfooz man” may be taken as a fair average of the type of this

race in its decay.

The modern Lapps, with some infusion of other blood, are

descendants of the scattered and degraded remnants of the

Rmoahals.

The government of the Rmoahals having been as described, the

memory of their Divine Ruler was preserved, and in due time He

came to be regarded as a god. Being to some extent psychic, this

people adopted a religion which, though not profoundly

174

philosophical, was far from ignoble. In later days this phase of

religious belief passed into a kind of ancestor-worship.

Amongst the Rmoahals, arts and sciences were crude in the

extreme.

175

CHAPTER XXXVI

THE SECOND ATLANTEAN SUB-RACE: THE

TLAVATLI

THIS sub-race arose on an island off the west coast of Atlantis;

thence it spread across the continent, gradually tending

northwards to the coast facing Greenland.

They were of a red-brown colour, powerful and hardy, but not

quite so tall as the Rmoahals, whom they drove further north.

They settled chiefly in mountainous districts approximately in an

area which later became the island of Poseidonis.

Their tribes or nations were ruled by chiefs or kings who

were acclaimed by the people on account of their being the most

powerful individuals or greatest warriors. A considerable empire

was eventually established among them, one king being the nominal

head, though rather in titular honour than in actual authority.

Their colonists spread outwards in every direction. A

mixture of this sub-race and the third sub-race - the Toltec -

inhabited the western islands, which later formed part of the

American continent; they reached also the extreme southern

coasts, where Rio de Janeiro now is. Others occupied the eastern

shores of the Scandinavian island, while numbers reached India,

where they mixed with the indigenous Lemurians and formed the

Dravidian race.

At a later period they occupied the south of South America,

so that the Patagonians probably had remote Tlavalti ancestry.

Remains of this sub-race, as of the Rmoahals, have been found in

the quaternary strata of Central Europe, and the dolichocephalous

”Cro-Magnon” man may be taken as an average specimen of the race

in its decadence, while the ”Lake-Dwellers” of Switzerland formed

an even earlier and not quite pure offshoot. The only fairly

pure-blooded specimens of the race now existing are some of the

brown Indians of South America. The Burmese and Siamese are a

mixture of the Tlavatli with one of the sub-races of the Fifth

Root-Race (the Âryan).

The Tlavalti inherited the traditional reverence and worship

for the Manu, but were taught by their Adept instructors to

recognise a supreme being whose symbol was the sun. They thus

developed a sort of sun worship; using for the purpose the tops

of hills; where they built circles of upright monoliths. These

both symbolised the sun's yearly course and also served for

astronomical purposes, being so placed that, to one standing at

the high altar, the sun would rise at the winter solstice behind

one of the monoliths, at the vernal equinox behind another, and

so on throughout the year. The stone circles were used also for

more complicated astronomical observations of the more distant

constellations.

The Manu brought into the Tlavatli sub-race some of the

entities from Globe D (the Moon) of the Moon Chain, who had

176

individualised in the lunar fourth and fifth rounds.

Arts and sciences, among the Tlavatlis, were extremely

crude.

177

CHAPTER XXXVII

THE THIRD ATLANTEAN SUB-RACE:

THE TOLTEC

THE THIRD SUB-RACE: THE TOLTEC

THIS sub-race took its rise near the west coast of Atlantis,

about Lat. 30º N. The whole of the surrounding country, and most

of the west coast, was occupied by them. Later they extended

right across the continent, their emperors holding almost world-

wide sway from their capital on the eastern coast.

The people were a rich red-brown, redder or more copper-

coloured than the Tlavatli. The first three sub-races have been

spoken of as the ”red” races, the four following as the ”yellow”

races.

The Toltecs were tall, averaging about 8 feet during their

ascendancy, but later dwindling to the dimensions usual among us

to-day. The type was an improvement on the two previous sub-

races, the features being straight and well marked, not unlike

the ancient Greek.

This sub-race was a magnificent development, the most

splendid and imperial of the Atlantean peoples, ruling the whole

of Atlantis for thousands of years in great material power and

glory. So dominant and vital were they that the products of

inter-marriage with later sub-races remained essentially Toltec.

In fact, even hundreds of thousands of years later we find them

ruling magnificently in Mexico and Peru, long before their

degenerate descendants were conquered by the fiercer Aztecs from

the north.

At first they were divided into a number of petty

independent kingdoms, at war with each other and with the

Lemurio-Rmoahals of the south. About a million years ago, after

great wars, the separate kingdoms united in a great federation

with an emperor at its head.

The second of these emperors was the Manu who founded the

City of the Golden Gates, the first of many cities of that name.

He also arranged for the incarnation at this time of a number of

egos, with complete causal bodies, from Globe D (the Moon) of the

Moon Chain, who had individualised in the lunar fourth and fifth

rounds.

The Toltec, by virtue of its great superiority, was at this

time the ruling race and subdued the rest of the world. The lower

classes, however, were not of pure Toltec blood. Even in the City

of the Golden Gates only the aristocracy and the middle class

were Toltec, the lower classes being of mixed descent, largely

composed of men and women taken captives in wars and reduced to

servitude by the Toltecs. There arrived at this time also a group

of ”Servers” ( vide p. 123), containing certain characters known

in the ”Lives” of Alcyone, such as Sirius, Orion and Leo. Some of

178

these were at once ear-marked by the Manu of the Fifth Root Race,

Vaivasvata Manu, as part of His future materials.

Hence H. P. Blavatsky speaks of the founding of the Fifth

Root-Race one million years ago, although it was actually led out

from Atlantis only in 79,997 B.C.

The group of Servers, mentioned above, later formed the

group with an average of 1,2OO to 1,OOO years' interval between

incarnations. With the 1,200-year group were included the two

egos who later became Masters with English bodies, Sir Thomas

More and ”Philalethes” or Thomas Vaughan.

The other, the 700-year group, did not arrive on the Earth

until 400,000 years later.

For thousands of years the Divine dynasty ruled Atlantis,

the islands on the west, and the southern portion of the land

lying to the east. Usually the power was handed down from father

to son, the dynasty being, when necessary, recruited from the

Lodge of Initiates.

This was the golden age of the Toltecs, the rulers acting in

harmony with the Occult Hierarchy. Government was accordingly

just and beneficent; arts and sciences were cultivated and, with

the assistance of occult knowledge; achieved tremendous results;

religious belief and ritual were still comparatively pure; in

fact the Atlantean civilisation was at its height.

After about 1OO,OOO years of this golden age, degeneracy set

in. Many of the tributary kings, as well as many of the priests

and people, began to use their faculties and powers for personal

aggrandisement, the attainment of wealth and authority, the

humiliation and ruin of their enemies, and, in general, for all

kinds of selfish and malevolent purposes. This led to ”sorcery,”

and to the breaking of their connection with the Occult

Hierarchy.

It is this desecration of psychic faculties and scientific

attainments for selfish ends which constitutes ”sorcery,” and

this, the ”black art,” rapidly spread. Higher spiritual guidance

being withdrawn, the principle of Kâma (Desire), due in the

natural course of things to reach its zenith in this Fourth Race,

asserted itself more and more.

Lust, brutality and ferocity increased and the animal nature

approached its most degraded expression.

Eventually the followers of the ”black arts” rose in

rebellion and set up a rival emperor who, after much struggle and

fighting, drove the white emperor from his capital city - the

City of the Golden Gates - and established himself on his throne.

The white emperor moved northwards and re-established

himself in a city, now the seat of a tributary Toltec king, in

the south of the mountainous district. The adherents of the white

emperor gradually fell away from him; the hostile parties

continually fighting one another, the destructive powers of the

armies being supplemented by the use of sorcery.

This brings us to about 850,000 years ago, by which time

more and more people had acquired and were practising the ”black

arts.” The City of the Golden Gates had by this time become a den

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of iniquity, and matters moved from bad to worse.

The emperor of the north, as well as the Initiated priests

throughout the whole continent, had long been fully aware of the

catastrophes at hand. Each one, therefore, became a centre of

prophetic warning, and ultimately led an emigration. In the later

days the rulers of the country deeply resented these priest-led

emigrations, as tending to impoverish and depopulate their

kingdoms, and it became necessary to get on board ship secretly

at night.

About 800,000 years ago, the first great catastrophe

occurred, the whole continent being terribly rent, whole

provinces rendered by tidal waves desolate swamps, and the City

of the Golden Gates being destroyed. Thus the black emperor and

his dynasty fell; to rise no more.

This terrible warning was taken to heart, and for a time

sorcery became less prevalent, but nevertheless during the whole

period from now onwards the general tendency was for sorcery to

become more and more prevalent.

During this period Corona, to be known later as Julius

Cæsar, came from the City of the Golden Gates and conquered the

Tlavatli tribe in which some members of the groups mentioned were

incarnated. He treated the tribe kindly, assisted it, and

incorporated it into the Toltec empire.

Batches of egos continued to arrive, the main cause of

separation of the batches appearing to be the method of

individualisation ( vide The Causal Body, p. 82) which causes

different intervals between incarnations. The various classes of

Moon-Men and Animal-Men also kept separate from one another, as

did the basket-works.

As stated previously, the first batch of the 700-year group

arrived about 600,000 B.C., taking birth in the Tlavatlis, and

including Surya, the chief of the tribe, Mercury his wife, Mars

the eldest son, and Herakles as a daughter. Mars later became

chief of the tribe, thus having his first experience of earthly

rule.

Also at this time, about 600,000 B.C., the Head of the

Hierarchy arranged for the incarnation of a special group of 1O5

egos, who had in Venus been pet animals of the Lords of the

Flame, and strongly linked to Them by affection. They

individualised on Venus and were all placed on the first or

second Rays.

Another small group, from the third round, was sent to

Mercury for special treatment in preparation for the Fifth Root

Race, and came thence to the Earth at this time-thus accounting

for those mentioned by H. P. Blavatsky as coming to the Earth

from Mercury.

From this time forward, the 1,2OO and the 700-Year groups

formed what has been called the ”Clan” and usually kept together.

The whole Clan incarnated together in the City of the Golden

Gates when Mars was king, in Peru when he was Emperor, in the

mainland near the White Island under the Manu, and in the second

and third sub-races at the beginnings and migrations-to name a

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few out of many instances. The Theosophical Society of to-day is

another meeting-ground of the Clan.

About 220,000 B.C. Mars was Emperor in the City of the

Golden Gates, with the title of ”Divine Ruler” transmitted from

the Initiates of earlier days. Mercury was the chief Priest.

These two come down the ages together, the one always as the

Ruler, the other the Teacher and the Priest. Mars seemed to be

always a man, though Mercury was sometimes a woman.

It was in this life that Ulysses, at the expense of his own

life, saved that of Vajra, son of Mars. As Ulysses was dying,

Mars said to him: ”By the blood that was shed for me and mine,

the bond between us shall never be broken. Depart in peace,

faithful servant and friend.” The bond became that of Master and

disciple, for ever unbreakable.

When the Toltecs were at their zenith, the continent of

Atlantis was probably as densely populated as England and Belgium

now are, the population of the world being then about 2,000

millions, instead of, say, 1,2OO to 1,5OO millions as it is to-

day.

The Toltecs, having emigrated chiefly to the west, spread

abroad and flourished on what are now the continents of North and

South America. The Peruvian empire under their Inca sovereigns,

about 14,000 years ago, may be regarded as a traditional though

faint echo of the golden age of the Toltecs on the mother-

continent of Atlantis.

The best representative of the Toltecs to-day is the

average Red Indian of North or South America, but of course he

bears no comparison with the Toltec at his zenith. The Toltecs

supplied the first great body of emigrants who mixed with and

dominated the inhabitants of Egypt. About 400,000 years ago,

Egypt being then isolated and thinly populated, a Lodge of

Initiates, because of the spread of the ”black arts” in their own

country, emigrated to Egypt, and for nearly 200,000 years did its

work there.

About 21O,OOO years ago, the Occult Lodge founded: the first

Divine Dynasty of Egypt and an empire, bringing over for the

purpose the first great body of colonists.

Between then and 200,000 years ago the two great Pyramids of

Gizeh were built, partly to provide permanent Halls of

Initiation, and partly to act as treasure-house and shrine for

some great talisman of power during the submergence which the

Initiates knew was impending.

It is legitimate to suppose that occult power was employed

to facilitate moving and lifting the enormously heavy stones used

in the Great Pyramid. Many thousands of years later, Cheops put

his name on one of the Pyramids.

About 200,000 years ago Egypt was submerged and remained so

for a considerable period. When it emerged again it was once more

peopled by the descendants of its old inhabitants, who had taken

refuge in the Abyssinian mountains, and by fresh bands of

Atlantean colonists from various parts of the world. A

considerable immigration of the sixth sub-race (the Akkadian)

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helped to modify the Egyptian type. This was the era of the

second Divine Dynasty of Egypt, the rulers again being Initiated

Adepts.

The spread of black magic led up to the second great 11.

catastrophe, in 200,000 B.C., when the great continent was

reduced to the two islands Ruta and Daitya.

For the next 1OO,OOO years the people of Atlantis

flourished, building up a mighty, but over-luxurious,

civilisation. The capital was once more the City of the Golden

Gates, a Toltec dynasty again rising to power, 5 on the island of

Ruta, and ruling a large portion of the island. This dynasty also

was addicted to the black craft.

It must, however, be borne in mind that down to the very

end, when Poseidonis was destroyed in 9,564 B.C., an Initiate

emperor or king, or at least someone acknowledging the ”good

law,” held sway in some part of the island continent, instructing

the small ”white” minority and controlling where possible the

evil sorcerers. In later days the ”white” king was as a rule

elected by the priests.

Members of the ”Clan” were sometimes born into families

addicted to the black art, occasionally dallying with it,

sometimes breaking away. One incident is of particular interest,

and may be briefly summarised here.

About 1OO,OOO years ago, Corona was White Emperor in the

great city, Mars being one of his generals, Herakles the wife of

Mars. A great rebellion was plotted, headed by Oduarpa, a man of

strange and evil knowledge, a ”Lord of the Dark Face,” leagued

with the ”Kingdom of Pan,” semi-human, semi-animal creatures who

are the originals of the Greek satyrs. Oduarpa gathered round

himself, as Emperor of the Midnight Sun, a huge army He

established a worship, with himself as the central idol, which

was sensual, riotous, and held men by animal gratification.

Against the White Cave of Initiation in the City of the Golden

Gates was set up the Dark Cave of the mysteries of Pan, the

Earth-God, in caverns deep in the earth.

Oduarpa, crafty and ambitious, was at the head of the

Federation of the outlying kingdoms, which arrayed itself against

the White Emperor. By his compact with the denizens of the nether

world, he had abnormally extended his own life, and had

materialised a metallic coating round his own body, which

rendered him impervious to spears or sword-thrusts.

Alcyone, by instinct shrinking from the black practices and

their orgies, was beguiled into taking some part in them by the

allurements of a maiden, Cygnus. A wild and drunken revel ensued.

Out of the earth emerged a wild procession of hairy bipeds, long-

armed and claw-footed, with animals' heads and manes, non-human,

yet horribly human. These gave the revellers drink and ointments

which made them drop drugged and senseless on the ground.

From the huddled heaps there sprang animal forms, astral

materialisations, fierce and conscienceless as animals, cruel and

crafty as men, which passed into the outer world full of lust,

snarling and ravening, returning into the human forms again when

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their orgy was over.

By means of these rites Oduarpa obtained firm hold over the

people and gained great power also over the sub-human kingdom. He

himself had a bodyguard of his magic animals, desire-forms

materialised into physical bodies, and these he would loose at

his enemies in battle: they fought with teeth and claws, spread

panic among the startled hosts, and gorged on the bodies of the

slain.

The decisive battle was fought against the White forces, at

the City of the Golden Gates, Mars being slain by Oduarpa

himself, Herakles captured and torn to pieces by the horrible

animals.

Oduarpa became Emperor of the City of the Golden Gates, but

not for long. Vaivasvata Manu came against him with a great army

destroyed the artificially-created Pan animals, scattered

Oduarpa's army, and slew Oduarpa himself.

The rule of the White Emperor was again set up in the City,

now purified, but slowly the evil again gained power until

Oduarpa, now reincarnated, fought against the White forces,

defeated them, and set up his own throne. Then the Head of the

Hierarchy spoke the words of doom, as the Occult Commentary

states: the ”Great King of the Dazzling Face” - the White

Emperor-sent to his brother Chiefs: ”Prepare. Arise, ye men of

the Good Law, and cross the land while yet dry.” The ”Rod of the

Four” - the Kumaras - was raised. ”The hour has struck, the black

night is ready.” The ”servants of the Great Four” warned their

people, and many escaped. ”Their Kings reached them in their

Vimânas (aeroplanes) and led them on to the lands of fire and

metal” ( i.e., east and north).

Explosions of gas, floods and earthquakes destroyed Ruta and

Daitya, and only Poseidonis remained. This was the catastrophe of

75,025 B.C.

In this catastrophe Egypt was again submerged, but this time

it was only a temporary wave. The people tried to climb the

Pyramids for safety, but failed owing to the smoothness of their

sides. When the flood receded, the third Divine Dynasty, that

mentioned by Manetho, began its rule, and under its early kings

the Temple of Karnak and many more of the ancient buildings still

standing in Egypt were constructed. With the exception of the two

Pyramids, no building in Egypt is more than 80,000 years old.

In this catastrophe the Himalayas were heaved up a little

higher, the land south of India was submerged, Egypt was drowned,

only the Pyramids being left standing. The tongue of land which

stretched from Egypt to what are now Morocco and Algeria

disappeared, and the two countries remained as an island, washed

by the Mediterranean and the Sahara Sea. The Gobi Sea became

circular, and land was thrown up, now Siberia, separating it from

the Arctic Ocean; Central Asia rose, and many torrents, caused by

unprecedented rainfall, cut deep ravines through the soft earth.

Yet another tidal wave swept over Egypt when Poseidonis was

submerged, in 9,564 B.C. This also was temporary, but it brought

to an end the Divine Dynasties of Egypt, for the Lodge of

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Initiates had transferred its quarters to other lands.

In Poseidonis the population was mixed, two kingdoms and a

small republic in the west dividing the island between them, the

northern portion being ruled by an Initiate king. In the south,

too, the hereditary principle had given way to election by the

people. Exclusive race-dynasties were at an end, but kings of

Toltec blood occasionally rose to power both in the north and the

south, though the north constantly lost territory to the south.

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CHAPTER XXXVIII

THE CIVILISATION OF ATLANTIS

THE student will readily understand that the history of the

Atlantean Race, as of the Aryan Race, was interspersed with

periods of progress and decay. Eras of culture were followed by

times of lawlessness, during which all scientific and artistic

development was lost, these periods again being succeeded by

civilisations reaching to still higher levels.

The following description, therefore, obviously applies to

the periods of culture; and, whilst it is by no means exclusively

applicable to any one sub-race, yet it may be taken to apply

principally to the great Toltec civilisation, the chief of all

the Atlantean civilisations.

Government was autocratic and, under the Divine Kings, no

system could have been happier for the people. It was planned by

the wise for the benefit of all, and not by special classes for

their own advantage. Hence the general comfort was immensely

higher than in modern civilisations. Governors were held

accountable for the welfare and happiness of their provinces, and

crime or famine were regarded as due to their negligence or

incapacity. Rulers were drawn chiefly from the upper classes, but

aptitude rather than class was the necessary qualification. Sex

was no disqualification for any office in the State.

Music was practised, but it was crude, and the instruments

most primitive. All the Atlanteans were fond of colour, both the

insides and the outsides of their houses being brilliantly

decorated. The art of painting, however, was never well

established, though there; was some kind of drawing and painting.

Sculpture was widely practised and reached great excellence.

It became customary for every man who could afford it, to

place in one of the temples an image of himself. These were

carved in wood or hard black stone like basalt, or even in

aurichalcum, gold or silver. The result was a fair resemblance of

the individual, sometimes a striking likeness.

Architecture was the art most widely practised, the

buildings being massive and of gigantic proportions. Houses were

built detached, even in cities, four blocks sometimes surrounding

a central courtyard in the middle of which was a fountain.

A characteristic feature of the Toltec houses was the tower

that rose from one of the corners or from the centre of one of

the blocks. An outside spiral staircase led to the upper stories,

and a pointed dome terminated the tower, this often being used as

an observatory.

Some houses were ornamented with carvings, frescoes or

painted patterns. The windows were provided with a material

similar to glass, but less transparent. The interiors were

furnished, but not in elaborate detail; nevertheless the life was

highly civilised of its kind.

185

The temples were huge halls, even more stupendous than those

of Egypt. The pillars supporting the roofs were square, or

occasionally round. In the days of the decadence the aisles were

surrounded with innumerable chapels containing statues of the

more important inhabitants, ceremonial worship of the images

being carried out by priests engaged for the purpose. The temples

also had their towers and domes, which were used for sun-worship

and as observatories.

The interiors of the temples were inlaid, or even plated,

with gold and other precious metals, these metals being obtained

by transmutation, this being a private industrial enterprise by

which the alchemists earned their living. Gold, being more

admired than silver, was produced in much greater quantity.

Gold, silver and aurichalcum were the metals most used for

decoration and for domestic utensils. Armour was gorgeously

inlaid with these metals, that used merely for show in pageants

and ceremonies being often entirely made of precious metals;

golden helmets, breastplates and greaves were worn on such

occasions over tunics and stockings of the most brilliant colours

- scarlet, orange and a very exquisite purple.

Buying and selling took place privately, except when large

public fairs were held in the open spaces in the cities.

Up to about 800,000 years ago Toltec was the universal

language, though remains of the Rmoahal and Tlavatli speech

survived in remote districts. All the languages were

agglutinative. All through the ages the Toltec language remained

fairly pure and survived. with slight alterations, thousands of

years later in Mexico and Peru.

All schools were endowed by the State, and primary education

was compulsory, but reading and writing were not considered

necessary for workers in the fields or in handicrafts. Children

with aptitude were drafted into the higher schools at the age of

twelve, where they were taught, as was most appropriate to each

child, agriculture, mechanics, hunting and fishing, etc. The

properties of plants and their healing qualities formed an

important branch of study; there were no recognised physicians,

but each man knew something of medicine as well as of magnetic

healing.

Chemistry, mathematics and astronomy also were taught, the

object being the development of the student's psychic faculties

and instruction in the more hidden forces of nature. In this

category were included the occult properties of plants, metals

and precious stones, as well as alchemical transmutation. As time

went on, they were principally occupied in developing the

personal power, which Bulwer Lytton called vril, and the

operation of which he fairly accurately described in The Coming

Race.

As decadence set in, the dominant classes monopolised for

themselves the educational facilities, natural aptitude being

disregarded.

Having no sense of the abstract, the Atlanteans were unable

to generalise; for example, they had no multiplication table;

186

arithmetic was to them a system of magic, a child having to learn

elaborate rules without ever knowing the reason for them. Thus

four sets of rules for mathematical magic had to be memorised for

every combination of numbers from 1 to 1O, viz., for addition,

subtraction, multiplication and division.

Most of their calculations, however, were made by an abacus

or framework, something like that now used by Chinese and

Japanese.

The Atlanteans were clever at amassing facts, and had

prodigious memories.

The habitual use of clairvoyance enabled them to observe the

processes of nature, now invisible to most, so that science was

carried far, its applications to arts and crafts being also

numerous and useful. They had knowledge of forces, which to-day

has been lost. One of these forces was employed to propel both

air- and water-ships; another for changing the attractive force

of gravity into a repelling force, so that the raising of

gigantic stones to a lofty height was a matter of the greatest

ease. The subtler of these forces were not applied to machinery,

but were con- trolled by will-power, using the thoroughly-

understood and developed mechanism of the human body.

Agriculture received much attention, experiments being

carried out in the crossing both of animals and of plants. Wheat,

for example, was crossed with the indigenous grasses of the earth

and produced oats and others of our cereals. Less satisfactory

were the attempts which produced wasps from bees, and white ants

from ants. From an elongated melon with scarcely any pulp, and

full of seeds, they produced the plantain or banana.

Among domesticated animals they had creatures like very

small tapirs, which fed on roots or herbage, or on whatever came

their way, like the modern pig. They had also large cat-like

animals and wolf-like ancestors of the dog.

Their carts were drawn by creatures somewhat like camels,

Peruvian llamas being probably descended from these. The

ancestors of the Irish elk roamed about the hills, somewhat wild

but still under the control of man.

Artificial heat and coloured lights were used in crossing

and inter-breeding different kinds of animals, in order to

expedite the process. They worked especially with amphibian and

reptilian forms which had about run their course and were ready

to assume the more advanced type of bird or mammal. Acting in co-

operation with the Manu, from Whom originates all improvements in

type, domestic animals like the horse were produced. But when war

and discord set in, towards the end of the Golden Age, men began

to prey on each other; and the animals, left to themselves,

followed man's example, and also began to prey on one another.

Some in fact were trained by men to hunt, and thus from the semi-

domestic cat descended the leopard and jaguar. It seems that the

lion would have been more gentle, and a powerful servant for

purposes of traction; had men fulfilled the task entrusted to

them by the Manu. In fact; if men had done all their duty, it is

quite conceivable that we might have had no carnivorous mammals.

187

The City of the Golden Gates lay on the east coast about 15º

north of the equator, and was surrounded by wooded park-like

country, scattered over which were the residences of the

wealthier classes. To the west lay a range of mountains, from

which was drawn the water supply. The city was built on the

slopes of a hill about 500 feet above the plain. On the summit of

the hill lay the emperor's palace and gardens, in the centre of

which welled up a stream of water, supplying the palace and the

fountains in the gardens, and then flowing in four directions,

falling in cascades into a canal which surrounded the grounds.

From this canal four channels led the water, through the

four quarters of the city, to cascades which in their turn

supplied another encircling canal. There were three such

concentric canals, the lowest being still above the level of the

plain. On the lowest level a fourth canal, on a rectangular plan,

received the waters and discharged them into the sea (vide

Diagram XLII). The city extended up to the edge of the outermost

canal, which was about 12 by 1O miles.

The uppermost of the three belts, into which the city was

188

thus divided, contained a circular race-course and public

gardens, most of the houses of the court officials, and the

”Strangers' House.” This last was a palace where strangers were

entertained, as guests of the Government, for as long as they

cared to stay.

The other two belts were occupied by the detached houses of

the inhabitants and the various temples.

In the days of the Toltec greatness there was no real

poverty, even the slaves attached to most houses being well fed

and clothed. But there were some comparatively poor houses in the

lowest belt to the north, as well as outside the outermost canal

towards the sea, where the inhabitants were connected mostly with

shipping, their houses being closer together.

In the days of its greatness the City of the Golden Gates

contained over two million inhabitants.

It was known also as the City of the Waters, because of its

magnificent water supply, which was finer than anything which has

been attempted since, in any age. The water came from a lake to

the west, at an elevation of some 2,600 feet, the main aqueduct,

of oval section, some 50 feet by 30 feet, leading underground to

a huge heart-shaped reservoir, deep below the palace. From the

reservoir a perpendicular shaft of about 500 feet up through the

solid rock gave passage to the water, which welled up in the

palace grounds. From the central reservoir also pipes led to

different parts of the city to supply drinking water and the

fountains. There were valves to control the various sections of

supply.

The hydrostatic pressure must have been enormous, and

consequently the strength of the material used in the aqueducts

must have been very great.

Other towns, on the plains, were protected by immense banks

of earth, faced on the outside with thick metal plates, thus

forming a practically impregnable barrier against spears or

arrows.

Airships were used by the wealthier classes; they contained

from two to six or eight persons. In the later days of war and

strife they constructed giant air-ships, which superseded

battleships for the sea, and which contained 50, or even 1OO

fighting men.

The earlier ones were built of very thin wood, strengthened

by the injection of some substance which did not add materially

to the weight but greatly increased the toughness. Later they

used an alloy, of two white metals and one red one, producing a

white metal like aluminium, but even lighter in weight. This

metal was beaten into shape over the framework and welded where

necessary, producing a seamless and perfectly smooth surface

which shone in the dark as though coated with luminous paint.

They were shaped like boats decked in, with propelling and

steering gear at each end.

From the airships they dropped bombs filled with heavy

poison-gas; allusions to these may be found in the great epics

and Purânas of the Hindus.

189

In the earlier days the ships were propelled by vril, the

personal power; this was later replaced by a force, generated in

some unknown manner, and operating through mechanism. The force

was etheric, and the generator was in a heavy metal chest in the

centre of the boat. The force flowed through two large flexible

tubes to each end of the vessel, and also through eight

subsidiary tubes fixed fore and aft to the bulwarks, these having

openings pointing both up and down.

To raise the vessel, the force was projected down-wards

through the apertures in the tubes, impinging on the earth with

force sufficient to drive the vessel upwards, the air acting as a

fulcrum.

To drive the vessel forward, the force was projected

downwards at 45º, thus maintaining the elevation and propelling

the vessel; steering was effected also by means of the force

projected from the tubes.

The maximum speed was about 1OO miles an hour, the course

being that of long waves in a vertical plane. They travelled at a

few hundred feet elevation only, the rarefied air at greater

heights being insufficient to provide the necessary fulcrum; but

they could cross hills up to about 1,OOO feet high.

They fought against other air-ships by using the force to

upset the equilibrium of the enemy's vessels.

They had also sea-going ships propelled by some analogous

power, but the most effective current force had a denser

appearance than that used in the air-ships.

They had a good deal of complicated machinery, though we

should consider most of it clumsy.

A curious trace of their limitations appears in the religion

which the Egyptians inherited from them. They had names for most

of the types of elemental essence and nature-spirits, and had

special spells for each, by which it could be controlled. These

they elaborately learnt, never realising that the force behind

the spells in every case was the human will, which would have

been equally effective without any spell at all . The Book of the

Dead contains many of these, only that portion which it was

thought each dead person would need being placed along with the

body in the tomb.

Polygamy was practised at various times by all the sub-

races; among the Toltecs two wives were allowed by law, but

monogamy was quite usual. Women were regarded as in every way

equal to men; many of them were the superiors of men in the use

of the vril power. Co-education was practised, and women took

part in government, sometimes representing the Adept emperor as

local sovereigns.

Writing was done on thin sheets of metal, with a white

porcelain-like surface. Reproduction of writing was achieved by

dipping other sheets of metal in some liquid and then placing

them on the original writing.

The Atlanteans ate flesh, but discarded the portions which

we usually eat, consuming those portions which we discard, such

as the entrails. They also drank blood, often warm from the

190

animal, and cooked dishes were also made of it.

Fish also was consumed, though often in an advanced stage of

decomposition. They ate bread and cakes of cereals, as well as

milk, fruit and vegetables. Fruit-juices were much used as

drinks.

The Adept kings and emperors, however, as well as the

initiated priests, were entirely vegetarian, though some of the

court officials ate flesh-foods surreptitiously.

A very potent fermented liquor was at one time much in

vogue, but later it was forbidden by law.

The Rmoahals and Tlavatlis used swords, spears, bows and

arrows, with which they hunted mammoths with long woolly hair,

elephants and hippopotami. Marsupials also abounded, as well as

creatures half reptile and half mammal, others half reptile and

half bird.

In later times explosives were carried to great perfection.

Some exploded on concussion, others by what we should now call a

time-fuse, but death resulted, not from the impact of bullets,

but from the release of some poison gas. So powerful were these

means of destruction that whole companies of men were killed by

poison-gas, released from bombs exploded above their heads,

thrown there by some sort of lever.

They had also weapons which projected sheaves of fire-tipped

arrows, and many others, constructed by men well versed in the

higher branches of scientific knowledge. Many of these are

described in the ancient books of the Hindus, and are stated to

have been given by, some superior Being. The knowledge required

for their construction was never made common.

During the first three sub-races, state coinage was unknown,

but stamped pieces of metal or leather were used as tokens,

perforated in the centre and usually carried strung at the

girdle. Each man made his own tokens, and used them as we use

promissory notes, being entitled to fabricate only such quantity

as he could redeem by the transfer of goods in his possession.

The tokens did not circulate as coinage, whilst the holder of

them was able by clairvoyance, which all to some extent

possessed, to estimate accurately the resources of anyone from

whom he received tokens. In later times Poseidonis used a system

something like our own coinage, stamping on the currency a

picture of the triple mountain visible from the great southern

capital.

The Rmoahal and Tlavatli, living chiefly by hunting and

fishing, had no need of a land system, though the Tlavatli had a

system of village cultivation.

The increase of population and civilisation in early Toltec

times made a land tenure system necessary, but, largely because

of the excellence of this system, poverty and want were non-

existent. The whole of the land and its produce, as well as the

flocks and herds, were regarded as belonging to the emperor. The

king or viceroy of each district was responsible in his own

district for tillage, harvesting, pasturage and agricultural

experiments. His agricultural advisers were versed in astronomy,

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and took full advantage of occult influences on plant and animal

life. They could produce rain at will; and could even partly

neutralise the effects of a glacial epoch.

We may note here parenthetically that about 850,000 years

ago, during the Toltec ascendancy, there occurred a glacial epoch

which desolated most of Atlantis. During the winter, the northern

inhabitants were forced to migrate far south of the ice-belt,

returning again to their encampments for purposes of hunting in

the summer.

Coming back to agriculture, the right day for each operation

was duly calculated, and every detail was supervised. Each

district usually consumed its own produce, though exchange

sometimes took place with other districts.

After setting aside a small share for the emperor and the

central government; the produce of the whole district was divided

among the inhabitants, the local viceroy and his officials

receiving the larger share, but everyone receiving sufficient to

secure competence and comfort. Increase of production, whether

agricultural or mineral, was shared by all, pro rata.

After a long period of successful working of this system, it

declined, negligence, self-seeking and elaboration of luxury

setting in. A particular cause of discontent was that the

superior class, whose psychic faculties had been duly developed,

delegated to their less highly trained subordinates the task of

selecting children for the higher technical education. Many

mistakes were thus made, and people found themselves tied for

life in unsuitable and uncongenial occupations.

In the later days of Poseidonis the original system of land

tenure gave way to that of individual ownership as we have it to-

day.

A remnant of the original land-system survived until the

time of the Incas in Peru, some 14,000 years ago. All land was

vested in the Inca, but half of it was assigned to the

cultivators, the other half, in equal shares, to the Inca and the

priesthood, who were sun-worshippers.

Out of his share the Inca maintained the army, the roads and

the whole machinery of government, which was in the hands of a

special class, representing a culture and civilisation much in

advance of the great mass of the people.

Out of their fourth share, the product of the ”lands of the

sun,” the priests maintained themselves and the public worship,

the entire education of the people in schools and colleges, as

well as all sick and infirm persons, and pensioned off everyone

over the age of 45, when leisure and enjoyment were considered

proper.

In the days of the Toltecs, when an Adept emperor ruled,

there was an initiated priesthood which constituted an immense

occult fraternity, and began progress on the occult Path. These,

of course, were the few, the masses being far behind them in

spiritual development. Sun worship was adopted, the spiritually

minded regarding the sun as a symbol, the ignorant being unable

to see further than the outer symbol. Magnificent temples for sun

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and fire worship were erected throughout Atlantis, but more

especially in the City of the Golden Gates. No image of the Deity

was permitted, the sun-disc being considered the only appropriate

emblem, a golden disc being usually placed so as to catch the

first rays of the rising sun at the vernal equinox or at the

summer solstice.

This religious system survives in the Shinto worship in

Japan, though, unlike the gorgeous temple decorations of

Atlantis, the Shinto temples are exquisitely finished in plain

woodwork, without carving, paint or any other decoration.

In later days the image of an archetypal man was placed in

the temples, and adored as the highest representation of the

divine.

The evil days, however, drew near, when the race would be

overwhelmed in the abyss of selfishness. The ethical idea decayed

and led to the perversion of the spiritual. Each man fought for

himself and used his knowledge for selfish ends. The Book of

Dzyan graphically describes the scene: ”Then the Fourth became

tall with pride. We are the kings it was said; we are the Gods. .

. . They built huge cities. Of rare earths and metals they built,

and out of the fires vomited, out of the white stone of the

mountains and of the black stone, they cut their own images in

their size and likeness, and worshipped them.” The apotheosis of

self could go no further.

Besides the sun, other symbols were known and, guarded by

the priesthood, one of these being the conception of a Trinity in

Unity. The Trinities of most sacred significance were never

divulged to the people, but the Trinity personifying the cosmic

powers of the universe as Creator, Preserver and Destroyer,

became publicly known in some irregular manner in Turanian days.

This idea was still further materialised and degraded by the

Semites into a strictly anthropomorphic Trinity consisting of

father, mother and child.

A further development took place in Turanian days. With the

practice of sorcery, many became aware of the existence of

powerful elementals, called into being, or animated by, their own

powerful wills. So degraded had men become, that they actually

began to adore these semi-conscious creatures of their own

malignant thought. The ritual was blood-stained from the start,

every sacrifice giving vitality to these vampire-like creations,

some of them becoming thereby so powerful that they persist to

this day, continuing to exact their tribute from unoffending

village communities.

This blood-stained ritual did not spread to any extent

outside the Turanians, though human sacrifice was not uncommon

among some of the Semites. In the great Toltec empire of Mexico

sun-worship was the national religion, the only offerings to

their beneficent Deity, Quetzalcoatl, being flowers and fruit.

With the coming of the savage Aztecs, human sacrifices to their

war god, Huitzilopochtli, were introduced. The tearing out of the

hearts of their victims on the summit of Teocali may be regarded

as a survival of the elemental-worship of their Turanian

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ancestors in Atlantis.

Amongst the Atlanteans a prominent symbol was the heart,

which represented, amongst other things, the atom, which has a

pulsation like the beating of the human heart, and also the sun,

which they considered had a similar movement, connected with the

sun-spot period.

They also thought that the earth itself breathed and moved,

and it is true that recently scientists have discovered that

there is a regular daily displacement of the earth's surface,

which may be thought of as corresponding in a certain way to

breathing.

The student is already well aware that the Atlantean Race,

being the fourth Root-Race, represents the middle or turning-

point of the cycle of descent of spirit into matter; and also

that Kâma, desire, reaches its culmination in this Fourth Race.

Hence we find that the intensification of Kâma resulted in

degraded animal propensities and brutal passions, the slight

development of mind, or Manas, serving only to add zest to the

gratification of the senses.

Moreover, their sensitiveness to higher things had not yet

been completely submerged or drowned by the descent into matter,

so that, side by side with the unsavoury characteristics

mentioned, we find they had considerable psychic faculties, and

godlike intuition.

Save the more advanced few, none had attained to the powers

of abstract thought, but the concrete mind was able to function

strongly; consequently we see them well advanced in the practical

concerns of every- day life, especially when their psychic

faculties were directed towards the same objectives.

Gradually, of course, their psychic faculties were lost, and

they descended deep into selfishness and materialism.

Although earlier races had begun to fight with one another,

it was the Atlanteans who first developed organised warfare. In

fact the principle of strife was the fundamental characteristic

of the fourth Root-Race, and all through the Atlantean period war

on land and sea was the order of the day. So deeply rooted in

man's nature did the principle of strife become, that even now

the most intellectually developed of the Aryan (fifth) Root-Race

are ready to war upon each other.

The fact that Kings and Emperors consider it necessary or

appropriate, on state occasions, to appear in the uniform of one

of the fighting services, is a significant indication of the

apotheosis reached by the combative qualities in man.

The sacred word of the Atlantean Race was Tau, just as that

of the fifth or Aryan Race is Om. It is said that the sacred

words given to the Root-Races in succession are consecutive

syllables of one great word which is the true sacred Name.

There still exists to-day an occult Lodge for occult study

preliminary to Initiation, founded originally in Atlantis by

Adepts; it observes the same old-world ritual, even teaching as a

sacred and hidden language the same Atlantean tongue used so many

thousands of years ago. It was the chiefs of this Lodge who

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founded the modern spiritualistic movement. For an account of

this, the student is referred to The Astral Plane, p. 1OO, or The

Astral Body, p. 191.

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CHAPTER XXXIX

ANCIENT PERU: A TOLTEC REMNANT:

12,OOO B.C.

THE civilisation of Peru, about 12,OOO B.C., closely resembled

that of the Toltec Empire at its zenith, and was in fact an

attempt to revive, though, of course, on a much smaller scale,

the original Toltec civilisation. We may therefore describe

certain features of the Peruvian system as an example of

Atlantean civilisation. This account is much condensed from Man

Whence How and Whither, pp. 141-200.

Government was autocratic, for the Ruler - either the Manu

Himself, or His Lieutenant, some Adept from a far higher

evolution - was the only person who really knew anything, so that

he had to take control of everything. The keynote of the system

was responsibility; an avoidable evil, such as the inability of a

man to find suitable work, or the illness of a child and the

absence of proper attention, was regarded as a slur upon the

administration, a blot upon the reign, a stain upon the personal

honour of the king.

The Empire was divided into provinces, these being sub-

divided into cities or smaller districts, these into groups of

1OO families, and these again into groups of ten families,

suitable responsible officials being in charge of each unit, the

honour of an official being involved in the perfect contentment

and well-being of everyone within his jurisdiction. Vigilance and

attention to duty were ensured not by outer law but by the

universal feeling among the governing class” a feeling akin to

the honour of a gentleman. Anyone who neglected his duty would be

considered an uncivilised being, and regarded with horror and

pity much in the way mediæval Europe regarded an excommunicated

person.

Living under such conditions, laws were almost unnecessary,

and there were no prisons. Every citizen looked upon his life in

the Empire as the only life worth living. If a man fell short of

his duty, the officer in charge would reprimand him; continued

neglect led to the only punishment - exile.

The officials were known as ”Fathers”; there was practically

no law for them to administer, but they arbitrated in case of

disputes. Officials were easily accessible, and made periodical

tours through their domains so that they could see for themselves

that all was well, and in order that anyone could consult them or

appeal to them, if he so desired.

Births, marriages and deaths were registered with scrupulous

accuracy, and statistics compiled from them. Each Centurion

recorded on a small tablet - the ancestor of the modern ”card”

system - the name of every person in his charge, and the

principal events in his life.

Land was not only carefully surveyed and parcelled out, but

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its composition was analysed in order to put it to the best use.

The land system was practically that described in Chapter

XXXVIII. Every town or village was allotted an amount of land

proportionate to the number of its inhabitants. Half the produce

was for the cultivators and their families, in proportion to the

number of mouths to be fed, half for the community. The

government was always ready to buy surplus grain which it stored

in huge granaries, in case of famine or other emergency.

Of the half share belonging to the community, one-half,

i.e., one-quarter of the whole, was considered the land of the

Sun, and had to be cultivated first. Then a man was free to

cultivate his own land; last came the quarter share belonging to

the King. The same order of precedence applied to irrigation.

A similar division of produce was made in the case of

manufactures and mineral products.

From his share the King maintained the entire government,

paying their salaries and expenses. He also built and maintained

all public works, such as roads, bridges, aqueducts, and the

granaries which stored sufficient food for two years for the

whole population. He also maintained the army.

With the produce of the land of the Sun the priests

maintained the splendid temples of the Sun all over the land,

with a magnificence which has never been approached elsewhere on

earth. They provided free education to the entire youth of the

Empire, including technical training up to the age of twenty, or

even later. They also took complete charge of, and maintained,

every sick person, who thus became a ”guest of the Sun.” If the

sick man were the breadwinner, his dependents also became ”guests

of the Sun,” until the man recovered. Lastly, the priests

provided full maintenance for all over the age of forty-five

except the official class.

Officials and priests did not retire at the age of forty-

five, except in case of illness. It was considered that their

wisdom and experience were too valuable not to be utilised; so in

most cases they died in harness.

The reason for the land of the Sun having precedence in

cultivation and irrigation is now obvious; for on the produce of

that land depended religion, education and the care of the sick

and aged.

The whole system worked so admirably that poverty was

unknown, destitution was impossible, crime was practically non-

existent. Exile was the worst punishment; barbaric tribes from

the outside became absorbed into the system as soon as they could

be brought to understand it.

They worshipped the Sun, but regarded the physical sun as a

symbol of that from which everything came.

They did not seem to have any clear idea of reincarnation,

but were certain man was immortal, and held that he returned to

the Spirit of the Sun. Their religion was essentially joyous,

grief or sorrow being held to be wicked and ungrateful. Death was

regarded as an occasion for solemn and reverent joy. Suicide was

looked upon with the utmost horror, as an act of grossest

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presumption, and was almost unknown.

In their public services praise, but never prayer, was

offered daily to the Spirit of the Sun. Fruit and flowers were

offered as tokens of what they owed to the Spirit of the Sun.

Sermons were simple, picture and parable being largely used. The

people were taught that what the Sun did for their bodies, He did

also for their souls, both actions being continuous. Men should

aim at being perfectly healthy, physically and morally, thus

becoming themselves minor suns, radiating out strength, life and

happiness. They had accurate knowledge of the radiation of

superfluous vitality from a man in good health.

Reading, writing and a kind of arithmetic, were taught, as

well as a sort of a rough and ready knowledge of all the general

rules and common interests of life, so that every child of ten or

eleven had some idea of how the necessaries of life were obtained

and how any common work was done. The utmost kindness and

affection prevailed between teachers and children.

School hours were long, but the occupations were so various

that there was no undue fatigue. Every child was taught how to

cook, how to distinguish poisonous from wholesome fruits, how to

find food and shelter in a forest, how to use simple tools in

woodwork, building or agriculture, how to find the way by sun and

stars, how to manage a canoe, as well as to swim, climb and jump

with amazing dexterity.

They were instructed in first aid and in the use of herbal

remedies. The whole of the instruction was practical, so that the

children became thoroughly ”handy” and competent.

Whilst they were taught the constitution of their country,

and the reasons for customs and regulations, yet they knew no

language but their own; this they spoke with great accuracy and

purity, through practice rather than grammatical rules. They knew

nothing of algebra, geometry or history, nor anything of

geography save that of their own country. They knew nothing of

chemistry, but much of practical hygiene.

About the age of twelve a definite career was selected for

each child, and he was drafted into a suitable technical school,

where he remained for a further nine or ten years. Again, they

learnt far more by practice than by theory.

Every child had the opportunity of being trained for joining

the governing classes, but the training was severe and the

qualifications so high that the number of applicants was never

unduly large.

The principal pursuit was scientific agriculture, but there

were also manufactures, metal working, making machinery, and

architecture.

The Agricultural Department carried out extensive and

exhaustive researches, and kept careful records of all results,

epitomising these in short maxims for popular use. Invention and

discovery were well rewarded by the Government, the State being

always willing to finance and carry out any tests required. Their

sewage disposal methods were quite as effective as anything we

have to-day.

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Their machinery was rougher and simpler, and less accurately

fitted than ours, but it was effective, and not liable to get out

of order. Many machines were worked by hydraulic pressure,

especially those used for irrigation. Much of the hilly land was

laid out in terraces for purposes of cultivation.

Their knowledge of botany was extensive, but again severely

practical; they sought to know only the uses of plants in

medicine, as food, or to make dyes.

Similarly with chemistry; of atoms and molecules they knew

nothing, but they knew a great deal of the practical uses of

substances, for manure, manufacturing processes and the like.

Astronomy was regarded as a religious rather than a secular

subject. Their knowledge of it was not great, but accurate so far

as it went. They knew the difference between planets and stars,

the shape of the earth, its rotation and the cause of the

seasons. Comets they looked upon as messengers from other great

Beings to their Lord the Sun.

Eclipses of sun and moon they could predict with accuracy by

means of a traditional formula. The exact moment of noon they

ascertained by observation of shadows, and by the same method

they found the date of summer and winter solstices, in connection

with which they held special religious services.

Their architecture was colossal, but unpretentious; designed

for use rather than show, their buildings being what we should

consider out of proportion. Such pillars as they used were

massive and often monolithic.

They did not seem to use the arch proper, though they

constructed openings with semicircular tops, built on heavy

semicircular metal plates; but they depended for strength chiefly

on their powerful adhesive cement. This was poured in hot and

solidified like flint, being stronger than the stone itself. They

cut and fitted enormous blocks of stone with the greatest

accuracy, so that the joint was barely perceptible; nevertheless

they managed to pour cement into the joints.

The majority of houses were built of large blocks of clay

treated chemically in such a way that they became scarcely

inferior to stone.

The walls were of enormous thickness, and the houses were

built round a central courtyard. Very little exterior

ornamentation was used.

The entrance was always at a corner, the door being a huge

slab of stone, sometimes elaborately carved; raised and lowered

by means of counterweights, like a modern sash-window. Later,

metal plates were used instead of stone slabs. In a few cases

heavy doors were fitted, turning on pivots.

Larger houses were more ornamented; both by carving and by

the use of broad bands of metal. So massive were they that they

were practically everlasting. Roofs were mostly heavy and nearly

flat, of stone or metal sheets. Wood was scarcely used at all in

their houses, because of the danger of fire.

No scaffolding was used, but earth was piled up level with

the walls, the roof stones being laid on the earth, cement poured

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in and allowed to set, after which the earth was removed, leaving

a building which was practically monolithic.

Nearly all houses were of one storey only, though sometimes

a curious erection was made in tiers, commencing with a platform,

say, 1,OOO feet square, and diminishing until the tenth tier was

1OO feet square, a small shrine to the Sun being built on this

final platform. The effect was thus of a flat pyramid rising by

broad shallow steps. Rooms were hollowed out of each terrace, and

a tunnel into the centre of the lowest tier led to subterranean

chambers used for storing grain and other necessaries.

The temples of the Sun were large and massive, but, by

modern standards, too low for their length. The interiors were

frequently literally lined with gold and silver, the metal plates

being as much as a quarter of an inch thick, and yet moulded over

delicate reliefs in the stone.

All houses, except the very poorest, were lined inside with

metal sheets, much as we now paper our houses. Palaces of the

King and chief Governors were, like the temples, lined with pure

gold: for other people, beautiful alloys were used, rich effects

being obtained at low cost.

Round the boundaries of the empire was built a chain of

fortresses; the height and thickness of the walls was enormous,

and they tapered upwards. Within the thickness of the walls were

chambers and secret passages, fully provisioned to stand

prolonged siege without discomfort.

Roads were built on a colossal scale, with splendid

disregard of natural difficulties. The whole road was paved with

flat slabs, trees and odoriferous shrubs being planted along the

sides. Bridges were built on the cantilever principle, i.e., by

making each course of masonry project beyond the course below.

Knowing nothing of coffer-clams or caissons, they would divert a

river, or build a breakwater, in order to construct their

bridges. Hence they preferred embankment work to bridging.

They had a wonderfully perfect system of irrigation, their

roads and aqueducts being probably the greatest engineering feats

the world has known. All the work was done by paid peasantry, or

by the army.

Weapons being simple, and little drill being required, the

army was mostly employed on public works and services. It

supplied all the runners for despatches and letters, official and

private. It maintained all public works. but called in additional

labour for new works.

In their infrequent wars with less civilised tribes, their

motto was: ”You should never be cruel to your enemy, because to-

morrow he will be your friend.” They slew as little as possible,

and endeavoured to make it possible for other tribes to come into

the Empire. They used the spear, the sword, and the bow, as well

as the bolas, which consisted of two stone or metal balls joined

by a rope, and so thrown as to entangle the legs of man or horse

and bring him to the ground. Their forts were arranged so that

they could roll great rocks on to their assailants.

They used iron, but did not know how to make steel. More

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valuable to them were copper and various brasses and bronzes,

because these could be made exceedingly hard by alloying them

with their remarkable cement; thus treated, even pure copper

would take an edge as fine as our best steel, while some of their

alloys were harder than any metal we have to-day. Iron did not

blend so perfectly with the cement and consequently was not so

useful.

Their metal work was exceedingly fine and delicate, some of

the filigree-work being so gossamer-like that it had to be

cleaned by means of a blow-pipe, as ordinary rubbing or dusting

would have destroyed it. Some of their engraving was almost too

fine to be seen by, at any rate, our modern eyes.

Pottery they made from clay, chemically treated, so that it

became a rich crimson colour; they then inlaid it with gold and

silver, with exceeding delicacy of line. Other fine colours also

were obtained, and by mixing the clay with their cement they

obtained a transparency almost equal to our clearest glass, and

far less brittle. They could also make thin porcelain which would

bend without breaking.

Metal-work and pottery to a great extent replaced wood, of

which they made very little use.

Painting was practised to a considerable extent, but it was

done on sheets of silicious material, with a delicate, creamy

surface. These could be bent, and varied in thickness from that

of notepaper to that of stout millboard.

Paint-brushes consisted of lengths of a fibrous plant, with

the end beaten out and cut to a sharp triangle, so that it could

be used for the finest as well as the thickest lines.

Colours were usually in powder, mixed with some vehicle

which dried instantly, so that a touch once laid could not be

altered. The colours surpassed in delicacy and purity any now

employed. By using the dust of metals they obtained a rich

effect, though perhaps to our tastes somewhat barbaric.

Perspective was good, and the drawing accurate. The

completed picture was brushed over with a very quick-drying

varnish, which made it practically indelible and impervious to

sun or rain for a long time.

Books were written, or rather illuminated, on the same

material and in the same manner as pictures. They consisted of a

number of thin sheets, usually about 18 by 6 inches, strung

together by wire or kept in a box 3 to 5 inches deep. The boxes

were usually made of a metal resembling platinum, more or less

richly ornamented.

Printing does not seem to have been known, though a kind of

stencil-plate was used for multigraphing official notices and the

like. Their attitude to books was much that of the mediæval monk,

and to make a copy of one was a work of merit.

The range of their literature was limited. There were a few

religious or ethical treatises, and some mystical, but the

favourites were those more directly practical. There was a

mystical book closely resembling the Chinese Classic of Purity.

Official treatises or manuals existed for every trade,

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handicraft or art, and were kept up to date by appendices. Thus

the Peruvian monograph on any subject was a compendium of useful

knowledge, giving in condensed form all that was known on the

subject.

There was also a class of story-book with a moral purpose,

usually describing how a King or other official dealt with an

emergency. Many of these were classics, constantly quoted. They

were accepted as true, though some of them may possibly have been

fiction.

Some of the stories had plenty of wild adventure, but there

were no love stories. Some of the stories contained humour,

though the professedly comic story had not yet been created.

There was also no poetry, although maxims couched in swinging,

sonorous speech, were widely known and constantly quoted.

In their music they had a pipe and a kind of harp, but their

favourite was something like a harmonium. The keyboard was

similar to that of a typewriter, an ingenious mechanical

arrangement forcing wind against a vibrating tongue of metal to

produce sounds.

The Peruvian musical scale was that of the Atlanteans, but

very different from our own. They had no set pieces, but each

performer improvised for himself.

Their sculpture was bold, dashing and effective rather than

graceful. Their rugged statues were of colossal size. Fine work

was done in bas-relief, usually covered with metal.

Minors were not allowed to marry, but adults were expected

to do so unless there was good reason to the contrary. All

marriages were performed on one day in the year, the Governor,

after asking a few questions, going through a simple form, and

pronouncing the couples man and wife. A new assignment of land

was then made to suit the changed circumstances.

The flesh of animals was not eaten; they consumed the

potato, yam, maize, rice and milk. Their principal food was

composed of maize-flour, mixed with other chemical constituents,

and reduced by enormous pressure to a highly concentrated cake.

Its components were such that it was a complete food in itself. A

man could therefore carry food for a long journey without

inconvenience.

It was sucked slowly like a lozenge, or boiled or cooked in

various ways. Having little flavour of its own, it was flavoured

by pomegranate, vanilla, orange, guava, and so on.

It was manufactured in enormous quantities, and was very

cheap. Many people ate scarcely anything else, though there were

plenty of other foods available.

They were fond of pet animals, small monkeys and cats being

the favourites, these being bred in many fancy varieties. With

cats, they made a speciality of colour, and had produced a

decided and brilliant blue type.

Many were fond of birds also, and it is possible that to

them we owe some of the brilliantly coloured specimens in the

Amazon forests. Some of the richer ladies had huge aviaries with

golden wires, and devoted much time to cultivate the affection

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and intelligence of their pets.

The national dress was a loose flowing garment, simple and

scanty, usually brightly coloured. A Peruvian crowd on a festal

occasion was a brilliant sight. Women usually preferred blue

robes, often of the shape assigned to the Virgin Mary by mediæval

painters. The material was usually cotton, though the. fine wool

of the llama and vicuna also was used. A cloth of great strength

was made from the threads of the maguey, chemically treated in

some way.

For calculation they used an abacus, or calculating frame,

like the modern Japanese. A cheaper substitute was a fringe of

knotted cord, possibly the original of the quipus, which the

Spaniards found in use thousands of years later.

Speaking generally, their physical life was undoubtedly

better managed than anything we have known since. The

opportunities for unselfish work and devotion to duty, which were

offered to the governing class, have perhaps never been

surpassed. But no mental struggle or effort was necessary for the

less intelligent classes, though any expression of these was

richly rewarded.

The condition of public opinion then was higher, and the

sense of duty stronger, than it is now. But it must be remembered

that the race we have been examining was an offshoot of a race

that had long passed its prime. we are yet a comparatively young

race and should, in due time, reach a level even higher than that

of the Atlanteans.

The Atlanteans had nothing which could be called Occultism,

nor any grasp of the great scheme of the universe such as that

which modern Theosophy presents to us. Hence, when our Fifth Root

Race reaches the same stage of its life, our physical conditions

should be as good as those of the Atlanteans and our intellectual

and spiritual development should be higher than anything that was

possible to the Peruvian relic of Atlantis, 14,000 years ago.

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CHAPTER XL

THE FOURTH ATLANTEAN SUB-RACE:

THE TURANIAN

THE Turanian or fourth sub-race arose on the eastern side of the

continent, south of the mountains inhabited by the Tlavatlis.

Most of them lived in the centre of Atlantis, west and south of

the Tlavatli area, but these lands they shared with the Toltecs.

They were never a thoroughly dominant race on the mother-

continent, though some of their tribes and family races became

fairly powerful. They were always colonists, many migrating to

the east.

In the period 800,000 to 200,000 years ago, they lived

further south, occupying the country where Morocco and Algeria

now are. They occupied also both the east and west coasts of the

Central Asian sea. Some moved still further east, the inland

Chinese being to-day the nearest approximation to them. A small

branch of them became the brutal Aztecs, who conquered and

replaced the last great empire that the Toltecs raised.

They developed a sort of feudal system, each chief being

supreme in his own territory, the king being merely primus inter

pares. Sometimes the council murdered their king and replaced him

by one of themselves.

They were thus turbulent, lawless, brutal and cruel. At some

periods regiments of women took part in their wars.

Being continually defeated in war by the Toltecs, who

greatly outnumbered them, and desiring increase of population,

every man was by law relieved from the direct burden of

maintaining his family, the State regarding all children as its

property, and therefore providing for them. This led to increase

of the birth-rate, and disregard of the marriage ceremony. The

ties of family life and parental love were destroyed, and the

scheme was then given up, having proved a failure. They tried

also, and abandoned, other socialistic solutions of economic

problems.

The Turanians were the first of the four later ”yellow” sub-

races.

They used the Tlavatli tongue as a basis, but so modified it

as to produce eventually an entirely different language.

At one time they experimented in democracy, carrying it to

even wilder lengths than its most rabid advocates to-day have

suggested. The results were so intolerable that the whole race

broke up into anarchy and chaos. China even now bears the impress

of the violent reaction towards aristocratic government which

followed.

The Turanians had very strongly developed animal passions,

and in many ways were not pleasant people.

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CHAPTER XLI

A TURANIAN RELIC: CHALDÆA, 19,OOO B.C.

A NATION of Turanian stock lived in Chaldæa about 30,000 B.C., as

a number of petty, quarrelling tribes, living by primitive

agriculture, and knowing little of architecture or culture of any

sort.

To them came a leader from the East, one Theodorus, sent as

Governor by the Manu. From Theodorus descended the royal line of

ancient. Chaldæa, a line differing widely in appearance from

their subjects, being strong-faced, with bronzed complexion and

deep-set gleaming eyes. A fair idea of this royal type may be

obtained from later Babylonian sculptures, though by that time

Âryan blood had permeated almost the entire race.

The civilisation which ensued was as remarkable as that of

Peru, in 14,000 B.C., though entirely different. In Chaldæa the

system of government was in no way exceptional; the emphasis was

on religion, which permeated and dominated the life of the people

to an extent equalled perhaps only among the Brâhmans of India.

The faith of Chaldæa was stern and mystical, with a

complicated ritual for the worship of the great Star-Angels, or

Planetary Logoi, as we should call them, and including a

comprehensive and carefully worked-out system of Astrology.

Their idea of astrology was practically identical with that

taught in modern Theosophy, based on the principles briefly

indicated in Chapter XVI of this book. The theory given to the

priests was probably handed down to them through unbroken

tradition from Teachers who had first-hand knowledge of the great

facts of nature, and it was exceedingly elaborate and

mathematical.

They regarded the solar system as one great Being, all its

physical components being His physical expression, its astral

components collectively His astral expression, and so on.

Each and every class of matter was composed of material

belonging to the seven great types or Rays, as explained in

Chapter XVI. The Chaldæans held that the whole mass of what we

now call elemental essence of any one of those seven types formed

to some extent a separate vehicle, almost a separate entity.

Since every man has within himself matter of all the seven types,

it followed that any modification in, or action of, any one of

the great centres controlling the matter of that particular type,

would affect him, to a degree dependent upon the amount of matter

of that type which he possessed.

Each of the seven great centres in the solar system has its

own enormous sphere of influence; it also has certain orderly

periodic changes of its own, like the beating of a heart. These

periodic changes being of different rates, a complicated series

of effects is produced, and it has been observed that the

movement of the physical planets furnishes a clue to the

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arrangement of the great sphere of influence at any given moment.

The Chaldæans held that the intersection of these spheres of

influence formed vortices which determined the location of the

physical planets.

Whilst recognising that these various influences profoundly

affected men, yet the Chaldæan priests were far from being

fatalists. They held that the influences could not in the

slightest degree dominate the will of man, but could only make it

easier or more difficult, as the case might be, for him to act

along certain lines. A really strong man had little need to

trouble himself as to the influences which happened to be in the

ascendant, but most ordinary people would do well to consider at

what moment this or that influence could most advantageously be

applied.

The influences themselves are no more either good or evil

than is electricity, but a wise man would, in his electrical

work, take into account the electrical condition of the

atmosphere and select a time when this was most favourable to

what he wished to do.

Thus, to take a simple example: the influence of Mars was

held to affect astral matter in the direction of passion, so that

when Martian influences were especially strong, he would be more

likely to have passion quickened or intensified in him. Another

influence would intensify nervous excitement, and at such times

disputes would be more than usually likely to arise, and people

would be more inclined to lose their tempers on less than

ordinary provocation.

The priests calculated the position and action of the

spheres of influence, as a guide to practical life. With

prediction they did not concern themselves. For each year they

drew up a sort of official almanac, by which the whole life of

the race was largely regulated. They decided the best times for

agricultural operations, for the breeding of plants or animals,

for the administration of remedies, and so on.

Their followers were divided into classes, according to what

modern astrologers call their ”ruling planet.” The calendars

would contain such warnings as: ”On the seventh day, those who

worship Mars should be on the watch especially against irritation

”; or: ”From the twelfth to the fifteenth days there is unusual

danger of rashness in matters connected with the affections,

especially for the worshippers of Venus,” and so on.

Certain daily hours of prayer, regulated by the apparent

movements of the sun, were observed by all alike. At sunrise,

noon and sunset, certain anthems or verses were chanted by the

priests at the temples: those who were able to do so attended the

temples at those times; others recited a few phrases of prayer or

praise.

Apart from these observances, common to all, each person had

his special prayers to the particular Deity to whom by birth he

was attached. The proper time for them varied with the motion of

the planet; the most favourable was that when the planet crossed

the meridian, and next to that came the times of its rising and

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its setting. But it could be invoked any time it was above the

horizon, and, in emergency, even when it was below the horizon,

though then by an entirely different ceremonial.

What may be called special calendars or periodical prayer-

books were issued for each planet, and every person was careful

to possess the one appropriate to himself. These calendars were

considered also to possess various talismanic properties, so that

the people carried them about with them.

At whatever hour the time for religious meditation or

exercise arrived, however inconvenient, each devotee observed it

faithfully, taking the view that at such a time it would be

foolish and ungrateful not to take advantage of the special

blessing his particular Deity, was then pouring out.

Gorgeous public ceremonies also were held, each planet

having at least two great feast days in the year, the Sun and

Moon considerably more than two. Each planetary Spirit had his

temples in every part of the country, to which the devotees of

that planet repaired; but for the greater festivals vast

multitudes assembled at the unique group of magnificent temples

near their capital city.

These temples were arranged so as to represent, on suitable

scales, the proportionate sizes of the planets and their

distances from the sun. The temples differed in design, every

variation presumably having its special significance. Each of

them, however, possessed a brilliantly coloured hemispherical

dome, the diameter proportionate to the size of the planet

concerned.

The place in the scheme where the earth should have been

represented was occupied by the temple of the Moon. Close by,

there was an isolated dome of black marble supported by pillars,

typifying the Earth, but containing no shrine.

In the space, correctly calculated, between Mars and

Jupiter, there was no temple, but instead a number of columns;

each ending in a tiny hemispherical dome; these presumably

represented the asteroids. Satellites were indicated by correctly

proportioned subsidiary domes, and Saturn’s rings were also

clearly shown.

On the principal festivals of any given planet the devotees

of that planet wore brilliantly coloured mantles or copes of the

colour sacred to the planet. The colours were as follows:

The Sun: delicate silken material, interwoven with gold

threads, like cloth of gold, but as flexible as muslin.

Vulcan: flame-colour, very striking and gorgeous.

Mercury: brilliant orange, shot with lemon-colour.

Venus: pure sky-blue with an underlying thread of light

green, giving a quivering iridescent effect.

Moon: white, interwoven with threads of silver, which in

certain lights showed pale violet shades.

Mars: brilliant scarlet with a strong crimson shade

underlying it and, in certain lights, showing as the predominant

colour.

Jupiter: gleaming blue-violet dappled with tiny silvery

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specks.

Saturn: sunset green, with pearl-grey shades underlying it.

Uranus: deep rich blue - the colour of the South Atlantic.

Neptune: plain-looking dark indigo, though unexpectedly rich

in high lights.

The devotees; thus arrayed, marched in procession to the

temples, decked with garlands of flowers, bearing banners and

gilded staves, sonorously chanting.

The Sun-God feasts afforded the grandest display, the whole

multitude, each person arrayed in his own planet’s colour,

performing the solemn circumambulation of the Sun-Temple, the

followers of each planet forming a concentric ring in its

appropriate place relative to the Sun-temple in the centre.

The temple of the Sun was built according to Diagram XLIII,

which is practically self-

explanatory. The immense

concave mirror behind the main

altar was of metal, probably

silver, very highly polished,

it being considered a religious

duty to keep it bright and free

from dust. Along the line

marked SS was a narrow slit in

the roof, so that the light

from a star exactly on the

meridian fell upon the mirror;

and was brought to a focus at

the spot where the brazier is

shewn. Incense being thrown on

the brazier, the image of the star gleamed in the light grey

smoke. The worshippers bowed their heads and the priests chanted,

reminding one of the elevation of the Host in a Catholic church.

Sometimes a flat mirror; suspended above the brazier, would

be lowered to the focal point of the

concave mirror, so as to catch the image

of the planet and reflect it upon a

certain spot on the floor of the temple.

On that spot were laid the sick for whom

that particular influence was considered

beneficial. Diagram XLIV illustrates the

arrangement in outline.

On the western altar burnt always

what was called the ”sacred Moon-fire,”

which was allowed to go out only on the

night before the spring equinox. The

following morning the rays of the Sun, passing through an orifice

above the eastern altar, fell upon and were concentrated by a

glass globe filled with water, the Sun himself thus relighting

the sacred Moon-fire, which was kept burning for another year.

The inside of the dome was painted to represent the night-

sky, complicated mechanism causing the principal constellations

to move over it exactly as the real stars move. The planets were

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represented by luminous bodies, which originally were

materialisations produced by the Adept Teachers, and which moved

freely in the air. Later these were replaced by ingenious

mechanical contrivances.

The outside of the dome was thinly plated with gold, with a

peculiar dappled effect evidently intended to represent the

”willow-leaves” or ”rice-grains” of the Sun.

Beneath the temple was a crypt, used exclusively by the

priests for meditation and self-development. Light, reflected

when necessary, was admitted only through thick plates of a

crystal-like substance of various colours, and directed on to the

various chakrams or centres in the body, thus aiding in the

development of the power of divination, clairvoyance and

intuition.

A hollow rod, or thyrsus, charged with electric or vital

fire, also was used here, as in the Grecian Mysteries.

To the Chaldæans, the title ”the Spirit of a planet”

included three different conceptions. First, what we may call the

”planetary elemental,” an undeveloped, semi-intelligent yet

exceedingly potent entity, consisting of the collective elemental

essence of the planet, regarded as one huge creature,

corresponding to what in man's astral body we call the desire-

elemental. It was the influence, or magnetism, of the planetary

elemental which they tried to focus on to a sick person, or to

imprison in a talisman.

Secondly, the Spirit of a planet represented that one of the

ten types of essence which poured through that planet, regarded

as a centre in the body of the Logos Himself. In this sense the

Spirit of the planet was omnipresent throughout the solar system,

working in each man, through certain plants, minerals, etc., and

giving them their distinctive properties. It was this Spirit of

the planet in a man to which their astrological warnings

referred.

Thirdly, they regarded the Spirit of a planet as the Head of

a whole hierarchy of spirits, Who was pre-eminently The Spirit of

the planet, or the Star-Angel. He was regarded by them much as a

Christian regards the great Archangels, the ”seven Spirits before

the throne of God,” as a mighty minister of the divine power of

the Logos. It was said that when the image of a Star was

reflected in the incense-cloud, clairvoyants could see the form

of the Star-Angel, the image of the star shining upon His

forehead.

One of their tenets was that in rare cases it was possible

for a man, through meditation and devotion, to secure his next

birth on the planet of the Star-Angel whom he worshipped, and the

temple records contained accounts of this having been done. Once

or twice in history, they said, the same thing has been done with

a still greater order of stellar Deities, belonging to fixed

stars outside the solar system altogether.

The term ”worship” is perhaps a little misleading, when

speaking of the Chaldæans. The feeling was rather the deep

affection, veneration and loyalty which we to-day feel towards

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the Masters of Wisdom.

Their religion evidently meant a great deal to the

Chaldæans. The priests were men of great learning along their own

lines. They studied history and astronomy profoundly, blending

the two sciences into one. They were fairly well versed in

chemistry, and used some of its effects in their ceremonies. A

priest, for example, would make the astrological sign for a

planet with some brilliantly phosphorescent substance on the

pavement in front of him.

Some priests specialised in medicine, studying the

properties of drugs when prepared under certain stellar

influences; others studied agriculture, the composition of soil

and its improvement, the use of coloured lights for plants, and

so on. Others again constituted a weather bureau, foretelling

with accuracy storms, cyclones, or cloud-bursts. Later this

became a Government Department, priests who predicted

inaccurately being deposed.

Very great importance was attached to pre-natal influences,

a mother being directed to live a sort of semi-monastic life both

before and after the birth of a child.

The priests were not responsible for education, although

they decided, by calculation, and sometimes by clairvoyance, to

which planet a child belonged. Each planet had its own school,

both for scholars and teachers, the training for each type

differing considerably, the intention in each being to develop

the good qualities and counteract the weaknesses characteristic

of each type.

Imparting knowledge was quite secondary, the primary object

being the formation of character. The hieroglyphic script, and

elementary calculation, were taught to every child, but nothing

else that we should recognise as a school subject. Religious or

ethical precepts were learnt by heart, indicating the conduct

expected from a ”son of Mars,” a ”daughter of Venus,” and so on,

the only literature being an endless commentary upon these, the

children being taught to criticise the actions of the heroes in

the stories.

Many years were thus spent in familiarising themselves,

theoretically and practically, with the teachings of this

unwieldy Book of Duty, as it was called, the children being

expected to impersonate the various characters in the stories,

acting as in a theatre.

The school curriculum did not comprise history, mathematics,

agriculture, chemistry or medicine, though any young man, on

leaving school, could attach himself as an apprentice to a priest

who specialised in any of these subjects.

Literature was not extensive. Official records were kept

with great care, transfers of land were registered, and the

decrees of the Kings were filed for reference. But no connected

history was compiled. It was taught orally, and episodes were

tabulated and related to astronomical cycles.

Poetry, handed down orally, was represented by a series of

sacred books, giving a highly symbolical account of the origin of

210

the worlds and mankind, and also by ballads celebrating the deeds

of legendary heroes.

After a long period of splendour and prosperity, the mighty

Empire of Chaldæa slowly waned and decayed, until it was utterly

destroyed by hordes of fanatical barbarians who, with puritanical

fervour, destroyed every trace of the temples. The spoilers were

in their turn driven out by the Akkads, members of the sixth sub-

race, from the north. These, coalescing with the remnants of the

old race and other Turanian tribes, made the Sumiro-Akkad nation

out of which the later Babylonian Empire developed.

This became more and more affected by admixture of Âryan

blood, first from the Arabian, or Semitic, and then from the

Iranian sub-races, until, in what we call historical times, there

was scarcely any Turanian left in the faces of the sculptures and

mosaics of Assyria.

This later race endeavoured to reproduce the worship of the

past, of which it still had tradition, but succeeded in producing

only a pale and distorted copy of the original magnificent cult

of the Star-Angels.

Looking at such civilisations as those of Chaldæa and Peru,

in which whole nations lived a happy and religious life, free

from intemperance and from grinding poverty, it might be thought

that humanity, since then, has not evolved but retrogressed.

Progress, however, is subject to a law of cyclic change, and

under that law personalities, races, empires and worlds pass

away, all forms, however beautiful, perishing, in order that the

life within them may grow and expand. The Fifth Race, when it

attains the zenith of its growth, should reach to a height even

loftier than that attained by the Atlantean Race.

For further details of the Chaldæan civilisation the student

is referred to Man Whence How and Whither, pp. 201-238, from

which this chapter has been condensed.

211

CHAPTER XLII

THE FIFTH ATLANTEAN SUB-RACE:

THE ORIGINAL SEMITES

THE fifth sub-race, or Original Semites, rose in the mountainous

country now represented by Scotland, Ireland and some of the

surrounding seas. In this least desirable portion of Atlantis

they grew and flourished, maintaining their independence against

aggressive southern kings, till the time came for them to spread

abroad and colonise.

They were turbulent and discontented, always at war with

their neighbours, especially with the growing power of the sub-

race that followed them - the Akkadians.

They leant towards a patriarchal form of government, their

colonists, mostly nomadic, almost exclusively adopting this form.

Nevertheless; in the period 800,000 to 200,000 years ago, they

developed a considerable empire, and even possessed the City of

the Golden Gates. Ultimately they had to give way to the

Akkadians, the final overthrow being about 1OO,OOO years ago.

During the period 800,000 to 200,000 years ago, they spread

both west and east: west to what is now the United States of

America; thus accounting for the Semitic type found in some of

the Indian races; and east to the northern shores of the

continent which combined all there was then of Europe, Africa and

Asia. The ancient Egyptians, and other neighbouring nations, were

to some extent modified by Semitic blood. With the exception of

the Jews, the only representatives of comparatively unmixed blood

at the present day are the lightly coloured Kabyles of the

Algerian mountains.

In addition to these normal emigrations, a special

emigration was arranged by the Manu; this being the fifth sub-

race, and therefore especially associated with the development of

manas, or mind; from it was chosen the nucleus from which the

Fifth Root-Race was to be formed. The tribes resulting from the

segregation travelled to the southern shores of the central Asian

sea, where the first great Âryan kingdom was established.

The Semites, although the second of the four later ”yellow”

sub-races, were comparatively white in complexion.

In their language they adopted a Toltec groundwork, but

modified it into a language of their own.

212

CHAPTER XLIII

THE SIXTH ATLANTEAN SUB-RACE:

THE AKKADIAN

THE sixth, or Akkadian, sub-race arose, after the great

catastrophe 800,000 years ago, in the land east of Atlantis,

about where Sardinia is to-day. Soon, however, they overran the

now diminished continent of Atlantis. They fought with the

Semites both on land and sea, very considerable fleets being used

on both sides. About 1OO,OOO years ago they finally vanquished

the Semites, setting up a dynasty in the old Semite capital, and

ruling the country wisely for several hundred years. They were a

great trading, sea-going and colonising people.

They were law-abiding, lived in settled communities, and

produced an oligarchical form of government. Like Sparta, in

modern times, they had a dual system of two kings reigning in one

city. They made great advances both in astronomy and in

astrology.

Spreading eastwards, they occupied what later, became the

shores of the Levant, reaching as far as Arabia and Persia, and

helping to people Egypt. The early Etruscans and Phænicians,

including the Carthaginians and the Shumero-Akkads, were branches

of this race, while the Basques of to-day are probably

principally of Akkadian origin.

In early Akkadian days, about 1OO,OOO years ago, a colony of

Initiates founded Stonehenge, on what was then the Scandinavian

part of Europe. The priests and their followers belonged to an

early strain of Akkadians, and were taller, fairer and longer-

headed than the aborigines of the country, who were of mixed

descent, but mostly degenerate descendants of the Rmoahals. The

rude simplicity of Stonehenge was intended as a protest against

the extravagant ornament and overdecoration of the Atlantean

temples of that time, where the inhabitants were worshipping

their own images.

The Akkadians, the third of the four later ”yellow” sub-

races, were yet, like the Semites, comparatively white in colour.

Adopting a Toltec ground-work, they modified that language

until they produced one of their own.

All the Atlantean languages were agglutinative. In the Fifth

Root-Race the descendants of the Semites and the Akkadians

developed inflectional speech.

213

CHAPTER XLIV

THE SEVENTH ATLANTEAN SUB-RACE:

THE MONGOLIAN

THE Mongolian or seventh sub-race seems to have been the only one

which had no touch with the mother-continent. It arose on the

plains of Tartary in Eastern Siberia about 63° N. Lat. and 140°

E. Long. It was directly descended from the Turanian race, which

it gradually supplanted over most of Asia. It multiplied

exceedingly, so that even at the present day a majority of the

earth's inhabitants technically belong to it, though many of its

divisions are so deeply coloured with the blood of earlier races

as to be scarcely distinguishable from them.

They were a nomadic people, and an improvement on their

ancestors of the brutal Turanian stock, being more religious as

well as more psychic than the Turanians. The government they

adopted required a suzerain in the background who should be

supreme both as a territorial ruler and as a chief high priest.

Wide as are the plains of Tartary, Mongol tribes have more

than once overflowed from northern Asia into America, across

Bearing’s Straits. The last of these emigrations, that of the

Kitans, some 1,300 years ago, has left traces which have been

followed by ethnologists, such as in some tribes of North

American Indians. The Hungarians are an offshoot of this race,

ennobled by a strain of Aryan blood, whilst the Malays are

another offshoot, though degraded by mixture with the effete

Lemurians.

The Mongolian is the last Atlantean sub-race in full force

to-day, and has, in fact, not yet reached its zenith, the

Japanese nation having history still to give to the world.

The Mongolians; like the Turanians, were yellow in colour.

214

CHAPTER XLV

BEGINNINGS OF THE FIFTH (ÂRYAN)

ROOT-RACE

IT was mentioned in Chapter XXXVII that the Manu of the Fifth

Root Race, the Lord Vaivasvata, selected a group of egos;

including the 1,200-year group, whom He hoped to shape for His

Race, and with whom therefore He kept up a connection. This was

about 1,000,000 years ago; 400,000 years later He made a further

selection of likely candidates.

The first decisive step, however, in founding the Race was

about 1OO,OOO years ago; when a tribe of the Atlantean fifth sub-

race; the Semites, white in colour, was isolated in the mountains

to the north of Ruta. This sub-race was addicted to mountains,

the Kabyles of the Atlas Mountains being its best modern

representatives.

Their religion was different from that of the Toltecs living

in the plains, a fact of which the Manu took advantage to effect

the Isolation. Then the Bodhisattva, the future Lord Buddha,

founded a new religion; those who came into it were told to keep

apart and forbidden to intermarry with other tribes.

The people were told that they were under a King and Lord,

physically unknown to them, and that they would be taken away to

a ”promised land.” Some, but not all, of the Hebraic story was

probably derived from these facts.

Owing to the impending subdual of the fifth sub-race by the

Dark Ruler, the Manu, in 79,797 B.C., shipped His people off

through the Sahara Sea and then by land to Arabia. A fleet of

thirty ships was provided for the purpose. These were not more

than 500 tons; they were clumsy, running before the wind fairly

well, but bad at tacking: oars also were used. Three trips were

made, and about 9,000 people were brought over, together with

some animals which were a sort of mixture of buffalo, elephant

and pig, something like a tapir.

Out of the 9,000 people five-sixths were from the fifth sub-

race, one-twelfth were Akkadian, and one-twelfth were Toltec,

each group the best of its kind.

At this time there was a splendid Toltec civilisation in

Egypt and, as the emigrants passed through that country, the

Egyptians tried to bribe them to remain. A few succumbed to the

temptation, defying the Manu's command, and later became slaves

of the Toltecs.

The rest, led by the Manu, reached the Arabian highlands, by

way of what is now the route of the Suez canal. The valleys were

fertile when irrigated, the country being sparsely populated by a

negroid race.

In one of the valleys a large number of the Servers, of the

1,2OO and 700 years groups, settled; they were so fanatically

devoted to the Manu that they drew upon themselves the anger of

the Egyptians, who fought and exterminated them, though

215

Vaivasvata Manu eventually drove out the Egyptians.

After this the colonists lived in peace for some time,

cultivating their land and using various kinds of seeds they had

brought from Atlantis. In about 2,000 years they numbered several

millions; they were isolated from the world by a belt of sand,

the only way across it, with grass and water, being about where

Mecca now stands. The least desirable types were sent away as

emigrants, one party going to the south of Palestine, another to

the south of Egypt. In one of the colonies the horse was

developed. Occasionally, in order to improve the human type, the

Manu Himself incarnated.

The people were pastoral and agricultural and became so

numerous as to cause over-crowding. Accordingly a very large

number were sent to Africa to found a colony. This colony was

later exterminated.

A few years before the catastrophe of 75,025 B.C., under

instructions from the Head of the Hierarchy, the Manu selected

some 700 of His own descendants, and made them into an unorthodox

and strict sect. He formed them into a caravan and set off

northwards ( vide Diagram XLV). He sought and obtained peaceful

passage through the dominions of the Ruler of the Sumiro-Akkad

Empire, embracing what are now Turkey in Asia, Persia and the

countries beyond. In Turkestan He treated with a Confederation of

Turanian feudatory States, including what is now Tibet, and was

permitted to pass. After some years the caravan reached the Gobi

216

Sea; here it turned into the hills to the north, where a great

shallow sea stretched northwards to the Pole. At this time the

Lemurian Star was much broken up, its nearest point being about

1,OOO miles to the north.

The Manu posted some of His followers on a promontory

looking to the north-east, but the majority He settled in a

fertile, crater-like depression. The White Island was to the

south-east, and out of sight until later when, covered with lofty

temples, it became visible.

The people remained here until after the great catastrophe,

which was then close at hand. The geological formation was such

that, unless the whole land was broken up, very little harm would

be done by earthquakes. When the seismic changes were in

progress, the community was undisturbed by absolute cleavage or

change of surface, although the people were terrified by the

recurring earthquakes, and almost paralysed by fear that the sun,

invisible for a year owing to clouds of fine dust, had gone out

for ever. Terrible rains fell incessantly, whilst masses of steam

and clouds of dust darkened the air. Nothing would grow properly,

and the people were exposed to severe privations. Of the original

700, increased to 1,OOO, only 300 of the strongest survived.

At the end of five years, they again became settled; the

weather became warm, and much virgin soil was thrown up, which

they were able to cultivate.

The Manu, by this time an old man, was ordered to bring His

people to the White Island. There he was shown the plan of the

future, stretching over tens of thousands of years. His people

were to live on the shores of the Gobi Sea, to increase and grow

strong The new Race was to be founded on the White Island itself,

and a great city was to be built on the opposite shore, the plan

of this being suggested.

There was a mountain range running along the shores of the

Gobi Sea, some 20 miles distant, and low hills stretched out from

that range to the shore. Four valleys; entirely separate from one

another, ran down to the sea. The Manu was instructed to plant

certain selected families in these valleys and develop from them

four separate sub-races, which were then to be sent out to

different parts of the world. Some of His own people were to be

born in the outer world, and were then to return and marry into

His family, in order to improve the racial type. He Himself was

then to incarnate and fix the improved type.

Five types were thus to be formed - the original main type

and four sub-types.

About 70,000 B.C. the Manu instructed His people to settle

and build villages on the mainland. Here they were to live and

multiply for some thousands of years. The Manu, the recognised

King, resided at Shamballa.

Some years later the Manu instructed Jupiter, Corona (who

later became Julius Cæsar), Mars, and Vajra (who later became H.

P. Blavatsky) to select certain of the best children and send

them to Shamballa. These children were Uranus, Neptune, Sûrya,

Brhaspati, Saturn, Vulcan and Venus, all of whom have since

217

become Masters.

Soon after this the Turanians swept down on the community

horde after horde, and eventually annihilated it.

The descendants of the children who had been saved

eventually founded another populous and flourishing civilisation,

at a higher level than before. Many of the Servers were included;

they were often stupid, and made many mistakes, but they were

bound closely to those whom they served by loyalty and whole-

heartedness.

They built houses of great size, and strongly fortified

them, as well as their towns and villages, against the savage

Turanians who continually harassed them.

Again they became a small nation, only to be once more

massacred by the Turanians, a few children and their nurses being

saved and brought up in Shamballa. The Race-type was in this way

preserved, the Manu and His lieutenants incarnating in it as soon

as possible to bring it nearer to the standard required.

It is noteworthy that even the bloodthirsty Turanians held

the White Island in deep veneration, and refrained from attacking

it.

Going back for a moment to the people who were left behind

in Arabia when the Manu took his selected 700 to Central Asia, we

may note that from those left behind were descended the Jews; we

shall take up the history of the Jews again in a later chapter.

218

CHAPTER XLVI

THE CITY OF THE BRIDGE

AFTER the second destruction, described at the end of the

preceding chapter, the Manu sent Mars to incarnate in one of the

best Toltec families in Poseidonis, and recalled him when twenty-

five years old. Mars then married the daughter of the Manu, thus

bringing in an additional strain of Toltec blood, which was

needed for the Race. From this date, about B.C. 60,000, the Âryan

Root-Race may be said to have begun, as a really successful

foundation, for after this it was never again destroyed.

The descendants of the Manu remained on the Island until

they numbered 1OO; they then went over to the mainland to begin

the building of the City which the Manu had planned as the future

capital of His Race.

The city spread out fanwise round the edge of the shore,

sloping up to the hills, 20 miles distant; the streets, which

were very wide, all pointed towards the White Island. The whole

City was thus planned carefully, 1,OOO years in advance of the

people who were to live in it. From the hills they obtained

metals, and stones of various colours - white, grey, red and

green, as well as porphyry of a splendid purple. The builders

worked gladly, as a brotherhood, knowing that they were carrying

out the wishes of Him who was at once their Father and their

King.

They used stones larger even than those at Karnac, slinging

them on rollers with the aid of machinery, some of the stones

being 160 feet long. The Manu and His lieutenants lightened the

stones by occult power so that they could be lifted into their

places. The buildings were on the Egyptian scale, but much

lighter in appearance. This was especially so on the White

Island; where the domes bulged at the base, and went up to a

point, like a closed lotus-bud, in which the folded-in leaves had

been given a kind of twist, as though two helices, right- and

left-handed, had been superimposed so that the lines crossed each

other. The lower parts of the huge buildings were immensely

solid; then a crown-work of minarets and arches with a very

graceful curve, and then the fairylike lotus-bud dome on top.

The building work occupied many hundreds of years, the White

Island, when completed, being a marvel of beauty. The Island

sloped up to a point, on which were built stupendous Temples, all

of white marble inlaid with gold. These covered the whole Island,

making it a single sacred City, with a huge central Temple. The

dome was over the great Hall, wherein the Four Kumâras appeared

on special occasions.

The streets were arranged as four radii, meeting at the

central Temple; the view from the end of one of the City streets,

say ten miles away, being exceedingly beautiful and impressive.

Seen from the north-west the whole looked like the Great Eye of

Masonic symbolism, foreshortened so that the curves became

cylindrical, the darker lines of the city on the mainland forming

219

the iris.

Inside and outside the Temples were adorned with many

carvings, a large number containing Masonic symbols. There was

one series of carvings illustrating the physical and the chemical

atoms. Other atoms and particles, such as those of vitality, were

modelled in alto-relievo.

For 1,000 years this capital was under construction, for a

people destined to become imperial. Gold was much used,

especially on white marble. Jewels were also greatly used in

decoration, as well as slabs of chalcedony and a stone resembling

Mexican onyx. A favourite device was a combination of green jade

and the purple porphyry.

Paintings were not used, nor drawings on a flat surface, nor

perspective. Friezes were in alto-relievo, exceedingly well done,

the figures often being painted.

A massive and splendid bridge connected the White Island

with the mainland, the City being known as the City of the

Bridge. It was a cantilever construction, very graceful, and

decorated with great groups of statuary. The stones of the

causeway were 10O feet in length and wide in proportion.

In B.C. 45,000 the City was at its zenith, the capital of an

immense Empire which included all East and Central Asia, from

Tibet to the coast and from Manchuria to Siam, besides claiming

suzerainty over all the islands from Japan to Australia. The

ineffaceable stamp of the Âryan blood may still be traced upon

races so primitive as the Hairy Ainus of Japan and the Australian

aborigines.

The cyclopean buildings were finished with great delicacy

and polished to a high degree. Their colossal ruins are said to

be the wonder of those who have seen them at Shamballa to-day.

The Bridge also still stands, though now only the shifting desert

sand flows beneath it.

Such was the mighty City planned by Vaivasvata Manu and

built by His children. Many and great were the cities of Asia,

but the City of the Bridge outshone them all. And over it ever

brooded the mighty Presences who had, and still have, Their

earthly dwelling-place on the sacred White Island, giving to this

one, out of all the cities of the earth, the ever-abiding

benediction of Their immediate proximity.

220

CHAPTER XLVII

THE FIRST ÂRYAN SUB-RACE: THE HINDU:

B.C 60,000

FROM the small beginning of B.C.60,000 there grew up a thickly

populated kingdom, surrounding the Gobi Sea and gradually

obtaining dominion over many neighbouring nations, including the

Turanians who had so mercilessly massacred its forefathers.

This was the root-stock of the original Root-Race, from

which all the branches or sub-races went out as emigrations. The

root-stock is usually called the first sub-race; the first sub-

race is also sometimes called the Hindu or the Hindu-Âryan sub-

race, to describe more particularly the emigrants that went into

India. For many huge bands of conquering emigrants marched into

India, subdued the land and possessed it. The last remnants of

the root-stock left their home and joined their forerunners in

India only shortly before the sinking of Poseidonis in B.C.

9,564, being sent away, in fact, to escape the ruin wrought by

that tremendous cataclysm.

As we shall see presently, the parent race sent out no less

than four migrations westward, the first of these forming the

second sub-race, the second the third sub-race, and so on.

From B.C., 60,000 to B.C. 40,000 the parent race grew and

flourished exceedingly, reaching its zenith about B.C. 45,000. It

conquered China and Japan, peopled chiefly by Mongols, the

seventh Atlantean sub-race; going northward and eastward until

stopped by the cold. It also added to its empire Formosa and

Slam, populated by Turanians and Tlavatlis, fourth and second

Atlantean sub-races. It also colonised Sumatra and Java and the

adjoining islands, which were then not so broken up as they are

now. For the most part they were welcomed in these regions by the

people, who looked on the fair-faced strangers as Gods and were

more inclined to worship than to fight them.

There is still left in Celebes, an island to the east of

Borneo, a hill tribe called Toala, which is a remnant of one of

these settlements. They spread also over the Malay peninsula, the

Philippines, the Liu-Kiu Islands, the Eastern Archipelago, Papua,

the islands on the way to Australia; and Australia itself, then

still thickly populated with Lemurians.

Over all the huge Empire, with its many kingdoms, the Manu

was suzerain; whether He was in incarnation or not, the Kings

ruled in His name, and He sent directions from time to time for

carrying on the work.

The general characteristics of the Race, and its

civilisation, well repay study. Beginning, as it did, with

hundreds of thousands of years of Atlantean civilisation behind

it, and having spent thousands of years under its own Manu in

Arabia and northern Asia, it was in no sense primitive.

The whole population could read and write; all work was

considered honourable, no matter what it was, being done for the

Manu. Especially cultivated was the feeling of the brotherhood of

221

the Race, a wonderful fundamental equality; and a mutual

courtesy. Whilst personal merit was fully recognised; there was

respect and gratitude for the greater people, and complete

absence of rude self-assertion. The people trusted one another,

gave each other credit for good intentions, and therefore did not

quarrel. Very different was this from the elaborate and luxurious

Atlantean civilisation, where each sought his own comfort and

recognition for himself, where people distrusted each other and

were mutually suspicious. With the Âryans a man's word was

sufficient; it would be un-Âryan to break it.

Everyone seemed to know large numbers of other people. in

fact the knowledge of a large number of people was one of the

qualifications for a man to be an official.

The feeling of brotherhood, however, did not extend outside

the Âryan Race itself, as, for example, to the Turanians, who

were of different stock, different culture, crafty, cunning, and

not to be depended on. Towards these the Âryans showed a marked

and dignified reserve, though they were not hostile to

foreigners, nor did they despise them. People of other nations

were allowed only into the outer courts of houses; for the

lodging of strangers, of whom there were few, special houses and

courtyards were set apart.

In governing foreign nations, whilst not cruel or

oppressive, they were yet stern and somewhat hard.

A man was an Âryan, a ”noble man,” and this fact imposed on

him a certain code of behaviour. The children of the Manu were

aristocrats, in the true sense of the word, proud of their high

descent, and fully recognising the demands it made upon them. For

them noblesse oblige was no empty phrase.

The civilisation was bright and happy, with much music,

dancing and gaiety, its religion being one of praise and

thanksgiving. The people were constantly singing hymns of praise,

and recognised Devas behind natural forces. The Dawn-Maidens were

joyously hymned each morning, and the Spirit of the Sun was the

chief object of worship.

The four Kumâras were regarded as Gods, and Their Presence

was evidently felt by a people so near to nature as to be

sensitive and psychic. The planet Venus also was an object of

worship, perhaps because of the tradition that the Lords of the

Flame had descended from Venus. The Sky itself was worshipped,

and even the Atom as the origin of all things and a manifestation

of the Deity in miniature.

An annual ceremony may serve as an example of one of their

greater religious festivals.

There was held every Midsummer Day, in the City of the

Bridge, the Festival of the Sacred Fire. Numbers of men, women

and children marched in procession at an early hour along the

converging streets into the crescent facing the Bridge. Flags

were flown from the buildings, the roads were strewn with

blossoms, incense was burnt, and the people were clad in coloured

silks, often heavily jewelled, wearing splendid coral ornaments

and wreaths and garlands of flowers. They marched with clashing

222

of metal plates and blasts of horns.

In silence they crossed the Bridge and went on into the

central Hall. There stood the great throne, cut out of the living

rock, gold-encrusted, richly jewelled, covered with golden

symbols. Before it stood an altar piled high with fragrant woods.

Above it an immense golden Sun, a half sphere, projected from the

wall. High in the vault above, the planet Venus hung in the air.

When the people were assembled, the three Manus entered, in

their robes of office, the Mahâguru (the future Gautama Buddha)

standing behind Vaivasvata; behind him stood Sûrya (the future

Lord Maitreya), and nearest to the throne the three Kumaras. In

the air above, in a semicircle, were gorgeous purple and silver

Devas, attendant, watchful.

Those around the throne softly chanted an invocation to the

King to come among them. A single silvery note rang out, the

golden Sun blazed, and below it, just over the throne, flashed

out a brilliant star. The supreme Lord of the Hierarchy appeared,

seated on the throne, and all fell on their faces, hiding their

eye from the blinding glory of His Presence.

The King softened the glory so that all might see Him, the

Sanat Kumâra, the ”Eternal Virgin” in all the beauty of His

unchanging Youth, who was yet the Ancient of Days. (It should be

noted that the Sanskrit term translated Virgin has a masculine

termination.)

He stretched forth His hands towards the altar, and fire

blazed upon it. Then He disappeared; the star vanished, the

golden Sun glowed but faintly, only the Fire burnt on. The

priests then reserved glowing fragments of wood for the altars of

the various Temples, these being given to them and to the heads

of households, in vessels with lids.

The processions re-formed and passed out to the City with

great rejoicings. The sacred fire was placed on the family altars

and kept alive during the ensuing year; brands lighted from these

altar fires were taken to those who had been unable to attend.

Some of the people studied deeply and reached great

proficiency in occult science, in order to devote themselves to

certain branches of the public service. They became clairvoyant

and gained control of various natural forces, learning to make

thought-forms and to leave their physical bodies at will.

Remembering the evil in Atlantis, the instructors chose their

pupils with great care, one of the lieutenants of the Manu

supervising the classes.

Instead of newspapers, clairvoyants obtained any news

required, from any part of the Empire, as we do in modern days by

wireless or other telegraphy.

Occasionally, if the Manu were unable to impress His

instructions on one of His distant rulers, He would bid one of

the trained students leave his physical body, travel astrally to

the ruler, materialise himself on arrival, and deliver the

message. In this way the Manu remained the real Ruler throughout

the whole Empire.

Writing was done on various substances, as, for example,

223

with a sharp instrument on a waxy surface, the script being

afterwards filled with a liquid which hardened.

Machinery was simpler than in Atlantis, and there was more

handwork. The Manu evidently wished to avoid the extreme luxury

of Atlantis.

By B.C. 40,000 the Empire began to decline, the islands and outer

provinces asserting a barbarian independence. The Manu still

occasionally incarnated, but usually directed from higher planes.

The central kingdom, however, remained splendid in civilisation

for another 25,000 years and more, whilst the later sub-races

were spreading in all directions.

224

CHAPTER XLVIII

THE SECOND ARYAN SUB-RACE:

THE ARABIAN: B.C. 40,000

THE work of developing the four sub-races, in the four valleys

(see p. 285), had now to begin. The Manu selected from the band

of Servers, who had been developing in the great Âryan

civilisation, a few families which were willing to act as

pioneers, to leave the City of the Bridge, and go into the

wilderness to found His new colony. Most of those chosen are or

have been in the Theosophical Society, and are constantly used in

this way as pioneers; such work may be thankless; but it is

necessary and to many congenial.

In the third generation Mars and Mercury took birth among

the descendants of these, and some of the great people incarnated

to specialise the type. When the highly developed egos incarnate,

the type is seen at its best, and the race has its Golden Age.

Younger egos then come in, but they are, of course, unable to

maintain the same high standard.

Those who remained behind in the City of the Bridge thought

the people who went to the valley very foolish, for the existing

civilisation was a very fine one and there seemed no sense in

going off to make a new one in an unreclaimed valley. Moreover

the new religion followed by the valley-dwellers seemed quite

unnecessary, and inferior to the existing religion.

For some centuries the people in the valley increased and

multiplied, the careful specialisation proceeding, until in B.C.

40,000 the Manu decided to send them out into the world ( vide

Diagram XLV, p. 213). Under the leadership of Mars; they retraced

the steps of their predecessors to Arabia, with the intention of

Âryanising the Arabs who, of all the Atlanteans, were the nearest

to the possession of the new characteristics.

Later the Manu in person took the lead of His forces, and

obtained permission from a strong and friendly power, then ruling

in what is now Persia and Mesopotamia, to march His host along a

carefully guarded route.

In this migration about 150,OOO men, of fighting age only,

were taken; together with some 1OO,OOO women and children.

Two years previously the Manu had prepared the Arabs for His

coming by sending messengers. After some little opposition and

trouble the Arab Chief allowed the visitors to settle in a great

desolate valley on the borders of his territory. In a short time

they had the whole valley irrigated, with a stream flowing down

the middle of it. Within a year the land was cultivated and good

crops obtained. In three years they were prosperous and self-

supporting.

The Arab Chief, becoming jealous, endeavoured to induce the

Manu to join him in attacking a neighbouring enemy. The Manu

225

refused; whereupon the Arab joined with his one-time enemy and

tried to exterminate the new-comers. The Manu, however, defeated

and slew them both, and made Himself Ruler over their combined

States. The defeated peoples soon became better off under the

Manu, who promptly proceeded to Âryanise them. His kingdom

prospered and grew stronger, as He absorbed tribe after tribe,

usually without bloodshed and with their own consent.

Before His death; forty years later, He ruled the upper half

of Arabia. The southern half held aloof because of a religious

fanatic, called Alastor in The Lives, who took his stand on the

directions of the Manu, given in ancient days, forbidding them to

inter-marry with aliens. The southern tribes thus united to

oppose their own Leader, now re-incarnated, making His own

original order as to purity of race their rallying cry against

Him.

The Manu had intended to Âryanise these descendants of His

old followers, but the idea that they were a chosen people was

held by them so strongly that they rejected his overtures. It

will be recollected that it was from these people that the Jews

were descended, as we shall see presently in more detail.

While this long struggle was going on the Mahâguru (the

future Gautama Buddha) came to the second sub-race to give it the

new religion which He had been teaching in Egypt, as a reform of

the ancient faith there prevailing.

At this time, about B.C. 40,000 an Atlantean Empire was

ruling in Egypt; it had attained a very high state of

civilisation; it had immense Temples, a very ornate ritual, and

elaborate religious teaching. The Egyptians were profoundly

religious, as well as psychic. They held gorgeous religious

processions, and ceremonies palpitating with reality, whole

multitudes being carried away with passionate emotion as they

mourned the death of Osiris and called on him to return.

The Mahâguru came to this people as Tehuti or Thoth, called

later by the Greeks Hermes. His doctrine was that of the Inner

Light. ”The Light that lighteth every man that cometh into the

world” was a phrase of His echoed in the fourth Gospel. ”I am

that Light,” He bade them repeat, ”that Light am I.” ”That Light

is the true man. . . . The Light is hidden everywhere; it is in

every rock and in every stone. . . . The Light is the life of

men. To every man - though there are glorious ceremonies, though

there are many duties for the priest to do, and many ways in

which he should help men - that Light is nearer than aught else,

within his very heart. For every man Reality is nearer than any

ceremony, for he has only to turn inwards, and then will he see

the Light. That is the object of every ceremony, and ceremonies

should not be done away with, for I come not to destroy but to

fulfil. When a man knows, he goes beyond the ceremony, he goes to

Osiris, he goes to the Light; the Light Amun-Ra, from which all

came forth, to which all shall return.”

And again : ”Osiris is in the heavens, but Osiris is also in

the very heart of men. When Osiris in the heart knows Osiris in

the heavens, then man becomes God; and Osiris, once rent into

226

fragments, again becomes one.”

To Pharaoh, the Monarch, He gave the motto: ”Look for the

Light,” for only as a King sees the Light in the heart of each

can he rule well. To the people He gave the motto: ”Thou art the

Light. Let that Light shine.” This motto was inscribed on a

Temple pylon, doors of houses, and on models of the pylon made of

precious metals or of clay. Another favourite motto was: ”Follow

the Light,” and this became later: ”Follow the King,” spreading

west-ward and becoming the motto of the Round Table. The people

said of their dead: ”He has gone to the Light.”

From Egypt, as said; the Mahâguru went to Arabia to teach

His doctrine to the second sub-race. Returning to the history of

the second sub-race, after some centuries a more ambitious ruler

succeeded to the throne, marched down to the ocean; and

proclaimed himself Emperor of Arabia.

A fanatical section of the southerners; however, under a

prophet of rude and fiery eloquence; protested against what they

considered the triumph of evil, abandoned their conquered

fatherland and settled on the opposite Somali coast. There they

lived and increased in numbers for some centuries until a serious

rupture occurred. The ruling prophet, enamoured of a young

negress, boldly pronounced that this was no infringement of the

stern order against inter-marriage with other races; the negroes

being merely slaves, and therefore goods and chattels rather than

wives.

A substantial minority rebelled against this clumsy artifice

of a licentious priest, made themselves into a caravan and

wandered round the Gulf of Aden, up the Red Sea coast, into

Egyptian territory. Their story pleased the Pharaoh, who gave

them an outlying district in which to settle.

A later Pharaoh demanded additional taxation and forced

work. Resenting this, they again emigrated, this time to

Palestine, where we know them as the Jews, still maintaining the

theory that they are a chosen people.

The karma of the rejection has left the Jews ever since a

race apart, the same egos incarnating again and again in that

line instead of passing from race to race in the usual way. It is

possible that some unconscious perception of this difference may

account for the treatment the Jews have received from other

races; it may also be partially due to the fact that because of

the tradition of that original selection by the Manu they have

always had a feeling somewhat similar to that of the Brâhmanas -

that they are superior to the rest of the world.

Originally a nomad tribe like the Bedouin Arabs, they lived

largely by robbery, their deity being confessedly but a tribal

god who fought against the gods of other nations and was

perpetually vaunting himself as superior to them. His demand for

blood-sacrifices is a criterion as to his status.

The carrying away into captivity to Babylon of a number of

these turbulent people was the best thing that could have

happened to them, for then for the first time they came into

contact with a highly civilised race, and heard of a supreme God.

227

They tried to identify their own tribal deity with this Supreme

Being; and so caused much confusion. When they returned from

captivity, they re-wrote their scriptures and put into them a

certain admixture of the higher ideas about a supreme deity.

The Founder of Christianity having taken possession of a

Jewish body, and all the earlier teachers of the religion also

being Jews, there was brought into Christianity a very mixed

conception of a god full of irreconcilable characteristics. If

the Christians could have left alone the primitive Jewish

conceptions, and taken the teachings of the Christ, who spoke of

the Deity as the Father in Heaven, many of the troubles of the

Christian Church would have been avoided.

The majority, left behind in Somali-land, harassed by slave-

raiders, after losing thousands of lives, abandoned their homes,

and migrated across the Gulf back to Arabia. They were received

in a friendly manner and were soon absorbed in the general

population. They called themselves the ”true Arabs,” though they

deserved the title less than any. Even to-day there is a

tradition that the true Arabs landed at Aden and spread

northwards. And among the Hamyaritic Arabs of southern Arabia may

still be seen traces of the admixture of negroid blood so many

thousands of years ago. There is also a legend that the Mostareb

Arabs of northern Arabia went away for a long time into Asia, far

beyond Persia, and returned bringing with them many marks of

their stay in foreign lands.

The second sub-race grew and increased for many thousands of

years, extending its dominion over nearly all Africa, except that

part possessed by Egypt. Later, they invaded Egypt, and for a

short time ruled as the Hyksos Kings; but their palmy days were

when they ruled the great Algerian island, pushed down the east

coast to the Cape of Good Hope, and founded a kingdom which

included Matabeleland, the Transvaal and the Lorenzo Marques

district.

The Servers, after several births in Arabia, took part in

the building of the South African Empire, Mars being there as

Monarch. Cities were built of the favourite massive type, and

huge Temples, the civilisation being by no means unworthy. But

the gulf between the native Africans and the Arab conquerors was

too wide to be spanned, and the Africans remained labourers and

domestic servants, kept entirely in subjection.

The Arabs made settlements also on the West Coast of Africa;

but they came in collision with men from Poseidonis, and were

eventually entirely driven back.

Madagascar was invaded, the southern Empire trying to occupy

it, but it succeeded only in maintaining for a time settlements

on parts of the coast.

When the great Sumero-Akkad Empire of Persia; Mesopotamia

and Turkestan finally broke up into small States and disorder, an

Arab monarch fought it for twenty years and made himself master

of the plains of Mesopotamia and of almost the whole of Persia,

up to the lake of Khorasân; where the desert now is. But he

failed to conquer Kurdistân and the mountain tribes.

228

On his death; his son consolidated rather than tried to

extend his Empire. It held together for some centuries, but

dynastic troubles broke out in Arabia itself; and the governor of

Persia, a cousin of the Arab King, proclaimed himself

independent. The Arab dynasty which he founded lasted for 200

years, but amidst incessant warfare.

Then again came a period of upheaval and of small tribes,

and frequent raids from the savage Central Asian nomads. One Arab

King, tempted by the fabulous wealth of India, sent a fleet to

attack it, but his fleet was destroyed and his men killed or

taken prisoners.

After the final collapse of the Arabian Empire of Persia and

Chaldæa, there were centuries of anarchy and bloodshed, the

countries becoming depopulated. So the Manu determined to come to

their rescue; and sent to them His third sub-race, which

established the great Persian Empire of the Îrânians.

The Arabian sub-race is sometimes called the Semitic, a name

which belonged originally to the fifth sub-race of the

Atlanteans.

229

CHAPTER XLIX

THE THIRD ÂRYAN SUB-RACE:

THE ÎRANIAN: B.C. 30,000

AN interval of 1O,OOO years elapsed after the despatch of the

second sub-race before the Manu sent forth the third. This brings

us to B.C. 30,000. The City of the Bridge at that time was still

great, though decreasing in splendour.

The people for the third sub-race had been prepared for many

centuries, being kept apart in one of the four valleys until they

showed quite a distinct type. In His original selection in

Atlantis, the Manu had included a small proportion of the best of

the sixth Atlantean sub-race, the Akkadians, and He now utilised

the families which had preserved most of that Akkadian blood,

sending into incarnation in them His group of pioneers. One or

two of them were sent further afield to bring back a strain of

Akkadian blood from its home in more western countries.

The people of the young third sub-race, as they multiplied,

were more pastoral than agricultural, keeping large herds of

sheep, cattle and horses. The Manu who, on this occasion; had

considerably modified His appearance, came into the sub-race in

its fifth generation, and allowed the people to multiply for some

2,000 years until there was available an army of 300,000 fighting

men. He then sent into incarnation Mars, Corona and others, fit

captains for His host, and Himself led forth the army, leaving

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the women and children behind in the valley.

The route ( vide Diagram XLVI) lay through difficult country,

some of the passes of the Tian-shan range, where it curves round

into the Kashgar district, being 9,000 feet high. For part of the

way they followed the course of a river which passed through

ravines and valleys. Pouring his fine army into Kashgar, the Manu

easily defeated such nomad hordes as ventured to attack Him as He

crossed their deserts. The weapons used were long and short

lances and spears, short strong swords, slings and bows. Many of

the villages, long harassed by forays, often pillaged and

massacred; welcomed a power which would restore and maintain

order.

In two years Persia was overrun without much difficulty; and

then Mesopotamia was subdued. Military posts were established at

frequent intervals; the country being divided between His chiefs.

Forts were built, first of earth, later of stones, until a

network was made over Persia to prevent raids from the mountains.

No attempt was made to conquer the warlike tribes, but they were

practically confined within their fastnesses, and were no longer

permitted to plunder the peaceable inhabitants of the plains.

The land was conquered down to the desert to the south and

up to the Kurdish mountains on the north. When the country had

been settled and peaceful for some years the Manu called to it

the vast caravan of the wives and children; left behind in the

valley.

For the next fifty years the Manu kept the new Empire under

His direct rule, visiting it several times, and appointing

members of His family as its Governors. He was succeeded by Mars,

Corona being the independent King of Persia.

From this time the third sub-race rapidly increased in power

until in a few centuries it dominated the whole of western Asia

from the Mediterranean to the Pamirs, and from the Persian Gulf

to the Sea of Aral.

The third sub-race; when it settled down in Persia and

Mesopotamia, numbered about a million, and they multiplied

rapidly, incorporating in their nation also the sparse population

which existed in the country when they entered it.

With certain changes its Empire lasted until about B.C.

2,200, though in this 28,000 years there were naturally many

fluctuations.

Most of the time Persia and Mesopotamia were under separate

rulers, of whom sometimes the one; sometimes the other, was

nominally Overlord. Sometimes the two countries split up into

smaller States, owing a kind of loose feudal allegiance to the

central King. All through their history they had constantly

recurring difficulties with the nomad Mongolians on the one hand

and the mountaineers of Kurdistân and the Hindû Kush on the

other. Sometimes the Îrânians pushed the savages back, at other

times they withdrew from them.

At one period they ruled most of Asia Minor and made

temporary settlements in several of the countries bordering the

mediterranean. At one time they held Cyprus, Rhodes and Crete;

231

but on the whole in that part of the world the Atlantean power

was too strong for them and they avoided conflict with it.

On the west at various times they came into conflict with

powerful Scythian and Hittite confederations. Once at least they

conquered Syria, but abandoned it as useless. Twice they

embroiled themselves with Egypt, but could do little against it.

During most of this long period they kept up a high level of

civilisation, and many relics of their great architecture lie

buried beneath desert sands. Various dynasties arose among them;

and several different languages prevailed in their chequered

history.

They avoided hostilities with India, being separated from it

by a wild territory, a sort of no-man's land. Arabia troubled

them but little, for there again a useful belt of desert

intervened.

They were great traders; merchants, manufacturers, being

much more settled than the second sub-race, and with more

definite religious ideas. The best specimens of the Parsis of the

present day give a fair idea of their appearance. The present

inhabitants of Persia have still much of their blood in them,

though largely commingled with that of their Arab conquerors. The

Kurds; the Afghâns and the Baluchis are also mainly descended

from them, though with various admixtures.

In B.C. 29,700 the Mahâguru (the future Gautama Buddha) came

to the third sub-race as the first Zarathustra and founded the

Religion of the Fire. The second son of Mars; the tenth of the

Kings who had succeeded Corona, was chosen as the vehicle for the

Supreme Teacher, the Bodhisattva. Sûrya (the future Lord

Maitreya) was the Chief Priest at the time, at the head of the

State religion, which was a mixture of Nature and Star worship,

and he wielded an immense authority, partly because of his office

and partly because he was of the blood royal. Mercury had been

trained from childhood for his great destiny.

The Mahâguru came from Shamballa in his subtle body and took

possession of the body of Mercury. A great procession started

from the Royal Palace to the chief Temple of the city; the King

walked on the right, under a golden canopy, the High Priest under

a jewelled canopy on the left; between them, carried shoulder-

high, seated on a golden chair, was the Prince. Halting at the

foot of the steps in front of the door of the Temple; the three

central figures ascended the steps, the Prince, who was now the

Mahâguru, in the centre.

Sûrya announced that He who stood there was no longer the

Prince, but the Messenger from the Most High and from the Sons of

the Fire who dwelt in the far East, whence their forefathers had

come forth. As the Head of their faith, he humbly bade Him

welcome.

The Mahâguru then spoke of His mission, entrusted, to Him by

the Lords of the Fire, and told them He had brought them a symbol

which should ever keep Them in their minds. He told them that

Fire was the purest of all elements and the purifier of all

things, and that thereafter it should be for them the symbol of

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the Holiest. It was embodied in the Sun and burned, though

hidden, in the heart of man. It was heat, light, health and

strength, and in it and by it all things had life and motion. He

told them how in all things l they should see the hidden presence

of the Fire.

Lifting His right hand, there shone in it a Rod shooting out

flashes on every side; He pointed the Rod to the East, cried some

words in an unknown tongue, and the heavens became a sheet of

flame. Fire fell upon the altar, on which wood, gums and incense

had been piled, and a Star shone above His head. Priests and

people fell on their faces, Sûrya and the King bowed in homage.

The procession then returned to the Palace. The people

carried home the flowers which had rained down from the sky when

the Fire had passed, and kept them as heirlooms for their

descendants.

The Mahâguru remained for a considerable time in the city,

going daily to the Temple to instruct the priests. He taught them

that Fire and water were the purifiers of all else and must never

be polluted, and that even the water was purified by the Fire:

that Fire and water were the two Spirits, Fire being life and

water form: and much else.

It is possible that out of this arose the later teaching of

Ormuzd and Ahriman. There are passages which show that the double

of Ormuzd was not originally an evil power, but rather matter,

while Ormuzd was Spirit.

Around the Mahâguru was an august assembly of Masters and

others less advanced. These He left to carry on His teaching when

He departed.

His departure was as dramatic as His first preaching.

Speaking from the great platform for the last time, though the

people did not know it was to be the last time, He inculcated the

duty of gaining knowledge and of practising love, and bade the

people follow and obey Sûrya, whom He left in His place as

Teacher. Then He told them He was going, blessed them and,

lifting up His arms to the Eastern sky, He called aloud; out of

the sky came a whirling cloud of flame, which enwrapped Him as He

stood, and then, whirling still, it shot upwards and eastwards,

and He was gone.

Mercury, who, in his subtle body, had ever remained near

Him, at His service, returned with Him to the Holy Ones, and

rested for a while in peace.

After He had gone Star-worship did not at once disappear,

for the people regarded His teaching as a reform, not as a

substitution, and still worshipped the Moon, and Venus, the

constellations and the planets. But the Fire was held sacred as

the emblem of the Sun, the new religion enfolding rather than

replacing the old one. Gradually the Faith of the Fire grew

stronger; Star-worship retreated from Persia to Mesopotamia,

where it remained the dominant faith, and took a very scientific

form.

Astrology there reached its zenith, and scientifically

guided human affairs, both public and private. Its priests

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possessed much occult knowledge, and the wisdom of the Magi

became famed throughout the East.

In Persia the Religion of the Fire triumphed, and later

Prophets carried on the work of the great Zarathustra, and built

up the Zoroastrian Faith and its literature, which have endured

to the present day.

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CHAPTER L

THE FOURTH ARYAN SUB-RACE:

THE KELTIC: B.C. 20,000

BY this time the great Central Asian Race was far on the road to

its decline, but the Manu had been careful to preserve dignity,

power and vigour in the seed of the fourth and fifth sub-races,

to which He had given much special training. He had drawn apart,

into one of the four valleys, some of the most refined families

from the City, and there arose in the colony a division of

classes. For the Manu was now striving to develop certain new

characteristics, to awaken imagination and artistic sensibility,

to encourage poetry, oratory, painting and music, and the people

who responded to this could not do agricultural or other hard

manual labour.

Anyone who showed artistic talent was accordingly drafted

off for special culture. He trained them also to be enthusiastic,

and to be devoted to their leaders. So effective was the work,

carried on for many centuries; that the special marks of the Kelt

remain to this day.

The valley was managed practically as a separate State, art

of all kinds being endowed in various ways. As time went on the

sub-race grew somewhat conceited; looking upon the rest of the

kingdom as what we should now call ”Philistine.” Their vanity was

justified, for they were extraordinarily handsome, cultured and

refined in their tastes, and with much artistic talent.

The Servers took no part in the founding of the fourth and

fifth sub-races. They were at work in many countries, and may be

met in the Lives of Alcyone.

Ten thousand years after the third sub-race had gone forth,

i.e., in B.C. 20,000, the fourth sub-race was instructed to

proceed along the northern frontier of the Persian Kingdom ( vide

Diagram XLVI), and to win for themselves a home in what are now

the Caucasus mountains, which were then occupied by wild and

predatory tribes.

The Manu arranged with the Persian Monarch to allow free

passage and food for the enormous host, and also to send with

them a strong army to assist in subduing the mountaineers. Even

so it proved no easy task, for though the tribes could easily be

defeated in a pitched battle, yet in guerilla warfare they were

far more formidable antagonists.

Eventually they established themselves in the district of

Erivan, on the shores of Lake Sevanga. Increasing greatly in

number, they exterminated the tribes or reduced them to

submission, until eventually all Georgia and Mingrelia was in

their hands. In 2,000 years they occupied Armenia and Kurdistân

as well, and later on Phrygia; so that they held nearly all Asia

Minor as well as the Caucasus. In their mountain home they

flourished and became a mighty nation.

Their country was so broken up that free communication was

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impossible; they therefore formed rather a federation of tribes

than an Empire. Even after they had begun to colonise the

Mediterranean coast; they looked back to the Caucasus as their

home, and it was really a second centre from which the sub-race

went forth to its great destiny.

By 10,000 B.C. they resumed their westward march, travelling

as tribes; so that they finally arrived in Europe, their ultimate

destination; in comparatively small waves.

The tribes left many of their members behind to carry on

their work of cultivation. These intermarried with other races,

and their descendants, with some admixture of Semitic blood, are

the Georgians of today. But in some cases the whole tribe

emigrated to the new home.

The first section to cross into Europe from Asia Minor were

the ancient Greeks - not the Greeks of our ”Ancient History,” but

their ancestors, sometimes called Pelasgians. Plato in Timæus and

Critæas mentions that the Egyptian priests spoke to a later Greek

of the splendid race which had preceded his own people in his

land. How they had turned back an invasion from the mighty nation

from the West that had subdued all before it until it shivered

itself against these Greeks. In comparison with these the Greeks

of our history were as pigmies. From these sprang the Trojans who

fought the modern Greeks; and the city of Agadé in Asia Minor was

peopled by their descendants.

For a long time they held the seaboard of Asia Minor and the

islands of Cyprus and Crete, all the trade of that part of the

world being carried in their vessels. A fine civilisation was

built up in Crete, enduring for thousands of years, and still

flourishing in B.C. 2,800. Minos was its chief founder, and he

was one of these elder Greeks, even before B.C. 10,000.

The final cause of their definite entry into Europe was an

aggressive movement on the part of the Emperor of Poseidonis. For

many centuries the coasts and islands of the Mediterranean had

been in the hands of a number of small nations, most of them

Etrurian or Akkadian; but some Semitic, who were usually peaceful

merchantmen. The Emperor of Poseidonis, deciding to annex them,

attacked with a great army and fleet. He subdued the large

Algerian island, ravaged the coasts of Spain, Portugal and Italy,

and forced the peoples to submit to him. Egypt was contemplating

submission, having no great navy with which to oppose him.

The Greek sailors of the Levant; however, defied him;

although he had only half his fleet at hand, he attacked them,

and lost his ships, much in the way the Spanish Armada was lost

when attacking the English. The Greek vessels were smaller,

faster, of less draught, and easier to handle than the clumsy

Atlantean ships. The Greeks were helped also by the weather, so

that the defeat was overwhelming.

The Atlanteans then attacked with the other half of their

fleet, and were again defeated, though this time with heavy loss

to the Greeks. The Atlantean Monarch escaped, and landed in

Sicily, where some of his troops were established. The news of

the destruction of the fleet encouraged the conquered populations

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to rise against him, and he had to fight his way home through the

whole length of Italy. Withdrawing his garrisons as he went, he

reached the Riviera with a few exhausted followers. Fleeing

across France in disguise, he eventually reached his own kingdom

in a merchant ship.

Although he vowed vengeance against the Greeks, the

discontented tribes in his own island rebelled, and he was never

again able to undertake foreign aggression.

The success of the Greeks immensely strengthened their

position in the Mediterranean, and within the next century they

had established settlements on many of its shores.

In B.C. 9,564 the terrible tidal wave; created by the

sinking of Poseidonis; destroyed most of the Greek settlements,

and seriously injured the remainder. Both the Gobi Sea and the

Sahara desert became dry land; and the most appalling convulsions

took place.

Urgent messages for help were sent to the highland home in

the Caucasus, which had been but slightly affected. Eventually

relief was organised on a large scale. The Greek settlements had

been all on the sea-coast, and the populations of the interior,

though overawed by the Greeks, had not always been friendly. When

most of the Greeks had been destroyed by the cataclysm, the few

survivors were often persecuted, and even enslaved, by the

interior races.

When the bottom of the Sahara was heaved up, its waters

poured out through the gap between Egypt and Tunis, where Tripoli

now stands; the interior suffered little; but the sea-coasts, on

which the Greeks had settled, were destroyed. The Sahara

gradually sank down again. and a new coast line rose; assuming

the configuration known to us along the African coast, the great

Algerian island joining the mainland; and forming with the new

land the northern coast of Africa.

Almost all shipping had been destroyed, yet so great was the

energy of the Greeks that within a few years all the ports of

Asia Minor were in working order and fleets of new ships went out

to re-establish the colonies and to deliver Greeks from foreign

yoke. The Greeks annexed all the best harbours of the new coast

line, and since most of the trade of Egypt was also in their

hands, the Mediterranean remained for centuries practically a

Greek sea. They even carried their trade eastward, an expedition

going to Java, where they founded a colony, with which a

connection was long kept up.

Later the Phænicians and Carthaginians divided the trade of

the Mediterranean with the Greeks. The Phænicians were a fourth

Race people derived from the Semites and Akkadians (fifth and

sixth Atlantean sub-races); the Carthaginians were also Akkadian,

intermixed with Arab, and with a dash of negro blood.

The emigration of the fourth sub-race into Europe was almost

continuous, so that it is not easy to divide it into distinct

waves. If we count the Greeks as the first wave, the Albanians

may be considered the second; and the Italian race the third,

both these going to the countries where they now are.

237

After an interval came a fourth wave of astonishing

vitality, that to which modern ethnologists restrict the name

”Keltic.” This became the predominant race over the north of

Italy, the whole of France and Belgium and the British Isles, the

western part of Switzerland, and Germany west of the Rhine.

The Greeks of our ”Ancient History” were a mixture, derived

from the first wave, mingled with settlers from the second, third

and fourth, and with an infusion of the fifth sub-race, coming

down from the north and settling in Greece. These gave the rare

and much- admired golden hair and blue eyes, occasionally found

among the Greeks.

The fifth wave practically lost itself in the north of

Africa and only traces of it can now be found, much mixed with

the Semitic (fifth Atlantean sub-race) and the Arabian, among the

Berbers, the Moors, the Kabyles, and even the Guanches of the

Canary Islands, in this last case mingled with the Tlavatlis.

The fifth wave mingled with the fourth in the Spanish

peninsula, and at a later stage, only some 2,000 years ago, it

contributed the last of the many elements which go to make up the

Irish; for to it belonged the Milesian invaders who poured into

Ireland from Spain (some of them founding a dynasty of Milesian

Kings in France), and bound it under curious forms of magic, as

will be explained presently.

But a much finer element had previously come into Ireland

from the sixth wave, which left Asia Minor, pushing north-west

until it reached Scandinavia, where it intermingled to some

extent with the fifth sub-race, the Teutonic. They came to

Ireland from the north, and are known in history as the Tuatha-

de-Danaan, spoken of more as Gods than men.

The Tuatha-de-Danaan were handsome, with oval faces, clear

complexion, mostly dark hair; and deep blue or almost violet

eyes. Sometimes the hair was lighter and the eyes grey, but the

other type was most usual, and may be seen exactly reproduced

among the Irish peasants to-day.

The Tuatha-de-Danaan were also intellectually and

spiritually much in advance of the mixed race they found in

Ireland, and the period of their rule was a sort of golden age,

as tradition correctly bears witness. Ireland was unquestionably

the seat of a high civilisation and a centre of philosophy,

whilst England was covered by dense forests and in a state of

relative savagery.

The Milesians from Spain, who overcame the Tuatha-de-Danaan,

were a far inferior race, though they had the rude physical

strength of youth and much knowledge of the lower magic. They

were bullet-headed, rugged, and often positively ugly, with light

or vividly red hair; the type may still be seen among the

peasants in South Ireland almost in its original purity.

There is a radical difference of type between the stolid

matter-of-fact Anglo-Saxon and the imaginative and poetical

Irishman. The average English peasant lives almost entirely on

the physical plane. The average Irish peasant of the south and

west lives much on the astral plane. His thoughts are usually far

238

away, occupied with legends of the past, or with stories of

saints, angels and fairies.

Quite apart from vexed questions of politics, there is

another cause of the poverty and general tack of prosperity of

the Irish. The Milesians cast a spell upon the race, subjecting

it to the glamour of a great illusion. Their priests covered the

country with a network of strongly magnetised centres, which even

now radiate a strong influence. Crowds of nature-spirits of a

certain type are still irresistibly attracted to these centres,

are permeated by their influence, and unconsciously become its

ministers, spreading it over the country wherever they go. The

spell was two-fold - the curses of disunion and lethargy - that

they should never be able effectively to combine together, but

always quarrel among themselves; and that they should

apathetically submit to the domination of whoever wielded or

inherited the magnetic power. Consciously or unconsciously, the

Roman Catholic Church has come into this heritage, and profits by

what still remains of that ancient spell, so that her rule is

unquestioned through all the districts concerned.

On the whole the fourth sub-race had brown or black hair and

eyes, and round heads, and were usually not tall in stature.

Their character showed clearly the result of the Manu's efforts

thousands of years before, for they were imaginative, eloquent,

poetical, musical, capable of enthusiastic devotion to a leader,

and splendidly brave, though liable to quick depression in case

of failure. They seemed to tack what we call business qualities;

and they had scant regard for truth.

After the catastrophe of B.C. 9,564, some of the old Greeks

settled in Hellas and occupied the country. The first city on the

site of modern Athens was built B.C. 8,000. (The Athens of our

history was begun about B.C. 1,000, the Parthenon being built in

B.C. 480.)

Here the Mahâguru came to them as Orpheus the Founder of the

Orphic Mysteries, from which the later Mysteries of Greece were

derived. He came about B.C. 7,000, living chiefly in the forests,

where He gathered His disciples round Him. He came as a Singer,

loving the life of Nature, averse to cities and to the crowded

haunts of men.

He taught by song, by music of voice and instrument,

carrying a five-stringed instrument, probably the origin of

Apollo's lyre, and using a pentatonic scale. By sound He worked

upon the astral and mental bodies of His disciples, purifying and

expanding them; by sound He drew the subtle bodies away from the

physical, and set them free in the higher worlds.

His music was quite different from the sequences, repeated

over and over again, by which the same result was brought about

in the Root-stock of the Race, and which it carried with it into

India. Orpheus worked by melody, using the melody of each etheric

centre or chakram to stir it into activity.

He showed His disciples living pictures, created by music;

and in the Greek Mysteries this was wrought in the same way, the

tradition coming down from Him. He taught that sound was in all

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things; and that if man would harmonise himself, then would the

Divine Harmony manifest through him and make all Nature glad.

Traditions of Him spread far and wide. He became the God of

the Sun, Phæbus-Apollo, and, in the North, Balder the Beautiful.

The Mahâguru thus appeared to the sub-races successively as

Vyâsa, Hermes, Zarathustra and Orpheus, teaching the doctrine of

Sun, Light, Fire and Sound respectively; all these giving the

single message of the One Life, the One Love.

From Hellas some of the disciples went to Egypt and

fraternised with the teachers of the Inner Light, and some went

as far as Java.

Nearly 7,000 years later the Mahâguru came to His ancient

people for the last time, reached final Illumination, and became

a Buddha.

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CHAPTER LI

THE FIFTH ARYAN SUB-RACE:

THE TEUTONIC: B.C. 20,000

TURNING back to B.C. 20,000, we find the fifth sub-race being

prepared simultaneously with the fourth, though in a different

way. It was set apart in a valley far from the City of the

Bridge, on the north of the Gobi Sea. Into it the Manu introduced

a few of the best specimens of the third sub-race, now thoroughly

specialised in Persia, and also a few Semites from Arabia.

He chose especially men who were tall and fair, and when He

Himself was born in it His body showed those characteristics

prominently. It will be recollected that the Manu starts each

sub-race just as He does the Root-Race, by incarnating in it

Himself; and the form He chooses to take largely determines the

appearance of the sub-race.

The fifth sub-race was strong and vigorous, much larger than

the fourth, and was tall, fair, long-headed, with light hair and

blue eyes. The character also was very different from that of the

Kelts; it was dogged and persevering, with little of the dash of

the fourth. Its virtues were not of the artistic type, but rather

of the business and commonsense sort, blunt and truthful, plain-

spoken and straightforward, caring for the concrete rather than

for the poetic.

The fourth and the fifth sub-races left their respective

valleys together in B.C. 20,000, and passed together through

241

Persia ( vide Diagram XLVII), though their eventual destinies were

very different.

The fifth sub-race, small in number, moved along the shores

of the Caspian Sea, and settled in Daghestân. There it grew

slowly for thousands of years, extending along the northern

slopes of the Caucasian Range, and occupying the Terek and Kuban

districts. It differentiated into several distinct types; and

began its great march to world dominion nearly 1,OOO years after

the cataclysm of B.C. 9,564.

The swamps of Central Europe having now become habitable,

the emigrants moved north-west to what is now Cracow in Poland.

There they remained for some centuries, disease thinning their

ranks, for the marshes were not quite dry enough for safe

habitation. It was chiefly from Cracow that the final radiations

took place. The first was the Slavonic; one party went east and

north; and from it came largely the modern Russians; the other

went more south, and is now represented by the Croatians,

Servians and Bosnians.

The second wave was the Lettish, though it did not go far.

It gave us the Letts, the Lithuanians and the Prussians.

The third was the Germanic, those called especially the

Teutons spreading over Southern Germany, others going north and

becoming the Goths and Scandinavians.

In modern history we find the descent of the Scandinavians

upon Normandy; of the Goths upon Southern Europe, and the

spreading of the fifth sub-race over Australia, North America and

South Africa; and its dominance in India, where the Root-Stock of

its people is settled.

The fifth sub-race has still to build, like its

predecessors, its World-Empire, though this has already begun.

The blunder of the eighteenth century, which tore away the North

American Colonies from Great Britain, may be remedied by a

reunion; in some form or other, of the severed halves. It seems

possible; also, that a similar alliance with Germany, the

remaining great section of the Teutonic sub-race; would weld the

whole sufficiently into one to make a federated Empire. For part

of the ”Plan” very shortly to be realised is the drawing together

of the various branches of the Teutonic sub-race. Late events

show the rising of India into her proper place in this extending

Empire, destined to be mighty in the East as well as in the West.

As this World-Empire rises to its zenith during the coming

centuries, the group composed of men of great genius, mentioned

under (4) on p. 123, will be sent to take incarnation in it, to

lift it to the highest pinnacle of literary and scientific glory,

till it overtops the vanished Empires of the Arabians, the

Persians, the Romans, of the second, third and fourth sub-races

of 11 the Aryan stock, and rises to a height even loftier than

that attained by Atlantis in its palmiest days.

At the present time a magnificent opportunity is being

offered to the Anglo-Saxon race; to the whole Teutonic sub-race,

if only it will sink its rivalries and jealousies and take it. If

it should unfortunately fall, there is another nation already

242

chosen to assume the sceptre which in that case would fall from

its hands. Such failure would cause a slight delay, while the new

nation was being pushed rapidly forward to the necessary level,

but at the end of a few centuries exactly the same result would

have been achieved. The intended end will be achieved; through

whose agency this will be done matters very much to the agents,

but nothing at all to the total progress of the world.

As was mentioned when speaking of the Atlantean Race, the

sacred word of the fifth or Aryan Root-Race is Om, that of the

Atlantean Race being Tau. The words of the Root-Races taken in

succession are said to be syllables of one word, which is the

true sacred Name.

Each Root-Race has its own special quality to unfold. That

of the fifth Root-Race is manas or mind-that type of intellect

that discriminates, that notes the differences between things.

When perfectly developed, differences are noted calmly, solely

for the purpose of understanding them and judging which is best.

In the stage of half-development at which we are now, most people

look for differences not so much in order to understand as to

oppose, often even to persecute those who hold opinions different

from their own. This elementary stage will, of course, in due

time be outgrown. The Âryan Race is less dominated by the

passions of the senses, is more open to the influence of manas,

and is thus obtaining a firmer grasp of knowledge, a wider range

of intellect. This fifth Root-Race is thus developing that aspect

of the Divine nature known by the Hindus as Chit, or

Intelligence.

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CHAPTER LII

THE FIFTH ROOT-RACE STOCK AND ITS DESCENT

INTO INDIA: B.C. 18,800

FROM B.C. 40,000 to B.C. 20,000 the great Empire had been

declining. During this period the Manu and His immediate group

had worked chiefly with the sub-races, in which they had

incarnated. The Kingdom centring round the City of the Bridge was

now but a small one; the Mongolian and Turanian races had

asserted their independence. The people built no more; but lived

in the ruins of the work of their forefathers. The more evolved

egos were incarnating in the sub-races, so that in the Mother

State the level of learning steadily sank. Trade had fallen

almost to zero, and the people were becoming agricultural and

pastoral only.

In B.C. 18,800, the sub-races being established, the Manu

wished to get the Root-Stock into India, the land chosen for its

further evolution. The civilisation in India was Atlantean, but

now over-luxurious and effete, the Toltec higher classes being

indolent and self-seeking. Much, however, remained of a noble

literature, and there was a great tradition of occult knowledge;

both of which had to be preserved for the future. The wealth of

the country was lavishly displayed, and the warrior spirit had

died out.

The entire removal of the Race from Central Asia was

necessary for three reasons: (1) so that Shamballa should be left

in solitude; (2) so that India should be Âryanised; (3) so that

the Race should not be involved in the coming cataclysm which

would greatly alter Central Asia.

A schism had occurred in the Root-Stock, owing to some of

them intermarrying with Tartars; these seceders had been pushed

back into the northern hills, where Mars was their King. Being

told in a dream certain of the plans of the Manu, Mars, in B.C.

18,875, led his people out into India ( vide Diagram XLVII,

p.238), having to do a little fighting on the way, for, though he

never attacked, he was often assailed. For a time he enjoyed the

hospitality of Virâj, then ruling as King Podishpar over the

greater part of northern India, the alliance being cemented by

the marriage of the daughter of Mars to the son of Podishpar.

Southern India was then a large Kingdom under Saturn, ruling

as King Huyaranda or Lahira. Sûrya was the High Priest under the

name Byarsha; he knew beforehand of the coming of these people,

and they were accordingly made welcome by the King, who settled

them in his land. Sûrya declared also that ”the high-nosed

strangers from the north” were fitted to be priests and should

hold office hereditarily. Those who agreed became priests, and

were the ancestors of the Brâhmanas of Southern India, living as

a separate class.

Others intermarried with the Toltec aristocracy, gradually

Âryanising the whole upper classes of the country, so that the

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south of India passed peacefully under Âryan rule, the second son

of Mars being elected later to the throne, when it became vacant.

From this migration onwards all the immigrants into India

are spoken of as the first sub-race; since the whole Root-Race,

the ancient stock, passed over into India.

About B.C. 13,500 a mission went from the South Indian

Kingdom to Egypt, the order coming from the Head of the Hierarchy

through the Manu. The expedition, under the leadership of Mars,

travelled through Ceylon, by water up the Red Sea, then only an

inlet; into Egypt, which was then highly civilised. Sûrya was a

High Priest in Egypt, and he advised the Pharaoh to welcome the

immigrants. Later he counselled the Pharaoh to marry his daughter

to Mars, and to name Mars his successor. This was done; so that

on the death of the Pharaoh an Âryan dynasty was established. It

reigned gloriously for many thousands of years, until the sinking

of Poseidonis, when the Egyptian people were driven to the hills

by the flooding of Egypt. The flood, however, retreated

comparatively soon, and the country soon recovered.

Manetho’s history apparently deals with this Âryan dynasty ;

he gives the date of Unas, the last King of the Fifth dynasty, as

B.C. 3,900, but occult research makes it B.C. 4,030. Under the

Âryan Pharaohs the Schools of Egypt became even more famous, and

for long led the learning of the world. From Egypt Aryan blood

was introduced into several East African tribes.

The Manu sent out also from the South Indian Kingdom

colonists to Java, Australia and the islands of Polynesia, which

accounts for the Âryan strain to be observed even to-day in the

brown Polynesians, in contradistinction to the Melanesians.

Meanwhile another emigration of the Root-Stock settled in

the Punjâb. Another established itself in Assam and northern

Bengâl. One expedition took place in B.C. 17,520, part reaching

its destination safely by the route followed by Mars in B.C.

18,875, while a smaller part was annihilated while trying to

penetrate the Khyber Pass.

In B.C. 17,455 Mars led out yet another, consisting of the

strongest and most vigorous men he could find. Settling the women

and children in a strongly entrenched camp between Jammu and

Gujranwala, Mars went on to Delhi with his army and built the

first city on that imperial site, naming it Ravipûr, City of the

Sun. When the city was ready, the women and children and their

guards were brought to it, and the life of Delhi, as a capital,

began.

In B.C. 15,950 one of the largest emigrations began, three

armies being formed under Mars as Commander-in-Chief. The left

wing crossed Tibet to Bhutân and thence to Bengâl, which was to

be the home of the whole expedition. The centre under Mars, with

Mercury as second in command, crossed Tibet and Nepâl, to Bengâl.

The right wing, under Corona. passed through Kashmîr, the Punjâb

and what we now call the United Provinces; Corona spent forty

years in making a Kingdom for himself and did not reach Bengâl

until Mars, ruling there, was an old man. Mars, with the help of

Vulcan, who had established himself in Assam; subdued Bengâl and

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fixed his capital in Central Bengâl. In this far-reaching

emigration ten who are now Masters took part: these were Mars,

Mercury, Vulcan, Jupiter, Brhaspati, Osiris, Uranus, Saturn,

Neptune, Virâj. With them were many others of the Servers.

From this time onwards there were constant descents into

India from Central Asia, sometimes mere bands, sometimes large

armies, the older settlers often resisting the new, the new

plundering the new. During thousands of years wave after wave

rolled into India.

Some of the Âryans studied the philosophy of the Toltecs,

whom they sometimes called the Nâgas. The lower classes of the

Atlanteans, mostly the brown Tlavatli, they termed Dâsyas, while

the black Lemurians, whom they regarded with horror, they called

Daityas and Takshaks.

By about B.C. 9,700 the Central Asian Kingdom was drained of

its inhabitants. The convulsions of B.C. 9,564 shattered the City

of the Bridge into ruins, and destroyed most of the Temples on

the White Island. The latest bands of emigrants did not reach

India easily, being delayed in Afghânistân and Baluchistân for

some 2,000 years; and many being massacred by Mongol raiders. The

rest slowly found their way down to the plains, already thickly

populated.

In order to prevent the Âryan blood from being lost amidst

the enormous majority of the Atlanteans and Atlanto-Lemurians,

the Manu again forbade intermarriage, and to this end instituted

the caste system; about B.C. 8,000. At first He founded only

three castes: Brâhmana or pure Âryans, white; Râjan or Âryan and

Toltec, red; and Vish or Âryan and Mongolian, yellow. Hence the

castes were called Varnas or colours. Later, all those who were

not Âryan at all were called Shûdras, but even here a small

amount of Âryan blood sometimes appeared. Many of the hill tribes

are partly Âryan, some are wholly so, like the Siaposh people and

the Gipsy tribes.

In building the caste system, the Manu was helped by members

of the four classes of Barhishad Pitris. (1) The sons of Bhrigu,

from Globe A of the Moon Chain, having the causal body active;

are the Somapâs, the Kavyas and the Saumyas; they gave their

chhâyas or etheric forms for the typical Sûkshma Sharîra (subtle

body) of the most advanced egos then ready for incarnation into

the Brâhmana caste; (2) the sons of Angiras; the Havishmats, with

mental body active, from Globe B, who gave their chhâyas for the

Kshattriyas, the warrior caste; (3) the sons of Pulastya, the

Ajapâs; with astral body active, from Globe C, who gave their

chhâyas for the Vaishyas or merchant caste; (4) the sons of

Vashishta, sometimes called the sons of Daksha, the Sukâlins,

with active etheric body, from Globe D, who gave their chhâyas

for the Shûdras. To the clairvoyant eye the Sûkshma Sharîra of

each caste was said to be at once recognisable by its dominant

colour, due to the relative density of its materials.

Returning to the movements of the Root-stock, one tribe went

off by itself to a valley in the Susamir district, where it lived

forgotten by the rest of the world; living a primitive pastoral

246

life for many centuries.

About B.C. 2,200 a great military leader arose among the

Mongol tribes, who devastated all of Asia that they could reach,

utterly destroying, among others, the remnants of the Persian

Empire. Ultimately the Tartar leader was overthrown and his

hordes scattered, but he left desolation behind him.

In a hundred years or so the Âryans in the valley migrated

bodily to Persia. These were the speakers of Zend, their late

arrival accounting for the curiously unsettled state of the

country even in the time of the last Zoroaster. Some of the third

sub-race who had escaped the general massacre came back and

joined this tribe; from these beginnings developed the latest

Persian Empire.

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CHAPTER LIII

THE ARYAN SIXTH SUB-RACE

THE sixth sub-race of the Fifth (Âryan) Root-Race is already

rapidly coming into existence in Australia and America, with

isolated members of it in the older countries. Many of those who

were killed in the recent war have already been re-born; though

there is nothing so far to indicate that they are abandoning

their former countries in order to come to the newer lands. Those

of the new sub-race who remain in the old countries will probably

have more difficulties to face, because of the pressure of old

ideas and conservative customs.

Many members of the present Theosophical Society will be

born into the new race, whilst others will prefer to remain and

help to bring the fifth sub-race to perfection; others again will

go with the great geniuses who will come into the Fifth-Race at

its highest point. It is possible that the sixth sub-race in its

manhood will be able so to influence the fifth sub-race that, for

the first time; a race shall have a serene and dignified decline

into fruitful and venerable age. That may be the reward of the

fight being waged against the powers of darkness, opening up

possibilities such as the race has never known before.

The form of body, emotions and mind have; of course, to be

modified to suit the new sub-race. Already the modelling power of

the Manu's mind and will is at work on the inner planes,

modifying the physical type of the children of the new age,

wherever they may be susceptible to it, whilst some of the junior

members of the Brotherhood, working in the outer world, have

instructions to provide for these when possible the education and

training that befits the new type. This work, small as yet, is

destined to swell to enormous proportions; until within a few

centuries the sixth sub-race will stand out distinct and

admirable, while the world continues to develop the fifth sub-

race to its maturity.

The new race has of course to be built out of the fifth sub-

race; the new characteristics required being developed one by one

in the egos concerned. The process of preparation is long; and

may well extend over several lives.

Even at its culmination the type will not be uniform. In the

main it is to be a dolichocephalous race; but it will contain

fair-haired and dark-haired people, people with blue eyes and

people with brown. Whilst the astral and mental traits are the

more important, in most cases it is only by the physical

appearance that one can make an estimate. Perhaps the most marked

physical tokens are delicate, well-shaped hands and feet, thin

fingers and oval nails, especially thinness in fingers and thumb

when seen edgewise. The texture of the skin is clear, never

coarse. There are three types of face: the markedly oval with

high forehead, the slightly less oval with broad forehead, and

the practically brachycephalous, this last being rare. (N.B. A

brachycephalous skull is one of which the breadth is four-fifths

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of the length.) There is also a distinguishing expression which

one who looks for it will soon begin to recognise.

The following remarks were made by Captain Pape in an

address to the British Association in 1923, dealing with what he

called the Austral-American Race: ”The head tends to be dome-

shaped, especially over the frontal region; there is a departure

from what is known as the ”low-set ear”; hair and skin are fine;

eyes luminous, intelligent, but not full; bridge of the nose

early developed; tips sensitive and mobile; eye-brows prominent;

frontal brain development large; type of face somewhat

triangular, but not sharp; general physiology harmonious,

proportionate, healthy, not at all the ”all brain and no body”

type. The psychology of the new-race child manifests as a rapid

response to sympathy, pity in suffering, power to comprehend

principles easily; quick intuitions; thoroughness, sensitiveness,

quick sense of justice, absence of parrot-like intelligence;

eagerness to help others. They also show a dislike of coarse

food, and often have not a large appetite along any lines. In

other respects they are normal children, but specially need

sympathy and understanding teachers.”

A special mark of the consciousness is the recognition of

unity, the quality we name Brotherhood, which makes for

compassion and self-sacrifice. It is essentially the qualities of

the spirit that are needed, so that though there may be less

intellectual development, that is not what is mainly required;

for the spirit unites what the intellect divides. Growing out of

this, there will be breadth and liberality of tolerance. All that

is narrow and exclusive; all that tends to separate one from

another, that emphasises differences instead of likenesses, will

be the antithesis of the new consciousness.

The nervous organisation will be more delicate, but not

necessarily unhealthy; but, being so delicately poised; it is

more subject to jar and injury, so that a child may be readily

thrown out of balance, and suffer quite abnormally. Hence an

environment gentler and more harmonious than that usually to be

found, for example, in many large cities to-day, is most

desirable for children of the new race. The separative conditions

of competition, struggle, class, individual and trade antagonism

- all these are destructive to the development of the new and

finer nervous organisation, for which something more harmonious

will have to be found in order that the new type may develop

satisfactorily.

The essence of action in the sixth sub-race will be the

union of many to achieve a single object, not the dominance of

one who compels others to his will. Those who lead will do so,

not by the exercise of will, but by love, sympathy and

comprehension. Tenderness will be the mark of power, and working

with rather than against others. The forerunners of the sixth

sub-race will display a synthesing spirit, being able to unite

diversity of opinion and of character, able to gather round them

the most unlike elements and blend them into a common whole. The

presence of weakness, which in the fifth sub-race is so often

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provocative; and calls out impatience, will evoke instead

tenderness and protection. The feeble, sentimental sympathy that

comes with a poor and undeveloped nature is not compassion; it

has no power of healing in it, and no power of protection. True

compassion is able to give help, feeling being guided by

knowledge, the remedy being shaped by understanding. This will

be, as said, a prominent characteristic of the sixth sub-race.

The new race will possess certain psychic powers, and for

this the pituitary body will be developed, thus giving an

additional sense, that of cognising astral emotions in the

ordinary waking consciousness.

We may say, in general, that the sixth sub-race will bring

in intuition and wisdom, blending all that is best in the

intelligence of the fifth sub-race and the emotion of the fourth.

It was mentioned at the beginning of this chapter that many

of the new sub-race will be drawn from the ranks of the

Theosophical Society. The great object of that Society is not so

much to provide for mental development, although that has its own

importance, as to awaken responsiveness to buddhic influences,

when intuitional love will produce harmony and brotherhood, and

will employ the developed intellect to build a new civilisation,

based on such ideals. The Society, being in close sympathy with

higher planes, is very sensitive to the forces liberated when

another ”Son of Man,” or World Teacher, comes to deliver His

message. It receives the first touch of this great outrush, and

this gives it new impetus. Its work will increase and spread,

this being reflected both in increased numbers and in brotherly

feelings.

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CHAPTER LIV

THE SIXTH AND SEVENTH ROOT-RACES

IN accordance with the general plan, the sixth Root-Race will be

created from the sixth sub-race of the Fifth Root-Race. It will

eventually take possession of a continent, now rising slowly,

fragment after fragment, in the Pacific. Many thousands of years

hence North America will be shattered into pieces, the western

strip; on which the Sixth Root-Race will be founded; then

becoming an easternmost strip of the new continent.

Whilst the little colony, which will be the germ of the new

Race, is being founded, the Fifth Race will be at its zenith, and

all the pomp and glory of the world will be concentrated therein.

The colony will be a poor thing in the eyes of the world, a

gathering of cranks, slavishly devoted to their Leaders.

Mars (now the Chohan Morya) will be the Manu of the Sixth

Race; and Mercury (now the Chohan Koot Hoomi) will be the

Bodhisattva.

Besides its primary object of spreading occult truth

throughout the world, the Theosophical Society has also the

secondary object of acting as a net to draw together those people

who are sufficiently interested in occultism, and possess the

necessary somewhat special qualifications, to help the Manu in

the founding of His new Race. Rigorous self-training will be

necessary, involving supreme self-sacrifice and self-effacement;

as well as complete confidence in the wisdom of the Leaders.

Students of occultism are aware that it is sometimes

possible; by means of a high type of clairvoyance, to see the

future; occasionally in considerable detail. Bishop C. W.

Leadbeater states that by means of this faculty he was able to

see a good deal of the circumstances of the founding of the Sixth

Root-Race Colony. He gives in Man Whence How and Whither? an

exceedingly interesting and full account of what he saw; and from

that account the present chapter has been compiled. The

description given here is very much condensed, so that those who

wish further details must refer to the original account. The

colony or community will be founded in Lower California, about

700 years hence. A large and beautiful estate will be purchased

and, under the supervision of the Manu and His lieutenants, a

magnificent group of buildings will be erected; they will

comprise a central Temple or cathedral, vast buildings arranged

as libraries, museums and council-halls, with perhaps 400

dwelling-houses surrounding them. Much complicated machinery will

be installed, the colonists soon learning how to make and repair

everything they need, thus becoming independent of the outside

world. The community, however, keeps in touch with the rest of

the world, acquainting itself with all new discoveries,

inventions and improvements in machinery.

The Manu Himself incarnates, in order to set the physical

type of the Race and bring it into line with the thought-form of

the Logos for the Sixth Race. After about 150 years the community

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numbers about 1OO,OOO, all of them, with a few exceptions, direct

descendants of the Manu. The Manu Himself has twelve children,

one born under each sign of the Zodiac. Large families are the

rule, there being no infant mortality.

The community pays a nominal tax to the general government

of the country, and in return is left almost entirely alone,

since it soon becomes self-supporting. It is popularly regarded

with great respect, the life of its members being considered

beautiful and interesting, but unnecessarily ascetic and somewhat

curious. Visitors are permitted, but no member of the colony may

intermarry with a non-member.

The people of the community are a selection of a selection;

they are perfectly aware of and utterly devoted to the work of

their Manu and Leader - the founding of the new Race. In Him they

have the fullest possible confidence, and they have thoroughly

trained themselves to put aside their own personalities in order

that they may carry out His wishes wholeheartedly.

The Manu’s rule is undisputed; He has a Council of about a

dozen highly-developed pupils, some of them already Asekha

Adepts. New experiments are constantly being made to increase the

welfare and efficiency of the Race. All Council members can

function freely on the lower planes, at least up to the causal

body. They are therefore in perpetual session, consulting even in

the very act of administration.

Neither courts of law nor police exist, for there is no

crime or violence. The only punishment would be expulsion from

the community, and no one would run the slightest risk of

incurring such a penalty. As everyone has at least some degree of

psychic development, all can see for themselves something of the

working of the forces with. which they have to deal, and the

enormously greater advancement of the Manu and other Leaders.

The religious opinion current is what we now call Theosophy,

much of our present rudimentary knowledge being now thoroughly

understood in detail. The facts of the life after death and the

nature of the higher worlds are matters of experimental knowledge

for nearly all. Some follow higher philosophy and metaphysics,

but the majority prefer to express their religious feelings in

the different Temples, which will presently be described. The

people are essentially practical, their science and their

religion being in perfect accord, bent to the one object of

serving the State. Many salute the rising Sun, but regard him as

a centre in the body of the Deity.

Devas take part in their religious life and habitually come

among the people, who derive much benefit from the constant

intercourse and instruction the Devas afford. The Devas, in fact,

work regularly under the Chief Priest (the present Chohan Koot

Hoomi), who is in supreme charge both of religion and education.

There are four types of Temple services, the management of these

being the especial function of the Devas.

The keynote of the Temple services is to provide each man

with that avenue of expression through which he can most easily

reach the Divine, and can be most easily reached by Divine

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influence. The four kinds of Temples work through affection,

devotion, sympathy and intellect respectively. The object is to

bring the prominent quality in the man into active and conscious

relationship with the corresponding quality in the Logos; of

which it is a manifestation. Every service is intended to have a

definite and calculated effect upon the man, the services for a

year or series of years being carefully ordered with a view to

the average development of the congregation, and with the idea of

carrying its members upward to a certain point.

The Crimson or affection Temple works principally by colour,

and affects mainly the astral and buddhic bodies of the

worshippers. It is circular, and to a great extent open to the

outer air. The worshippers sit on the pavement, close their eyes,

and pass before their mental vision a succession of colours, each

person having an order of his own. This corresponds to a

preliminary prayer, and is intended to calm the man, collect his

thoughts, and attune him to the surrounding atmosphere. When the

service commences the Deva materialises, in a glorified human

form, and wearing rich crimson vestments, on the apex of a

pyramid or conical erection of filigree work in the centre of the

building.

The Deva then causes to flash above his head a band of

brilliant colours; which is a thought expressed in the colour-

language of the Devas, and serves as the text or keynote for that

particular service. It is intelligible as well as physically

visible to the congregation.

Each person now imitates the Deva's colour-band, making a

smaller copy of it in the air in front of him. The Deva then

pours out a stream of influence, through his own colour-form,

which reaches each worshipper and Uplifts him through his own

smaller colour-form. Through the officiating Deva is also poured

a stream of influence from a ring of higher Devas. A sea of

crimson light suffuses the vast aura of the Deva, spreads over

the congregation, and stirs their emotions to greater activity,

evoking the highest affection of which they are capable. The Deva

next reverses the current of his force, drawing all the fiery

streams into himself and passing them as one vast fountain to the

circle of waiting Devas; who again pass it on to the chief Deva

of their Ray.

The chief Deva collects similar streams from all parts of

the world, and combines them into one great river which flows

around the Feet of the Deity. The Logos instantly responds,

sending a flood of power through the chief Deva to the people in

benediction. This, very briefly, is the daily religious practice,

affecting for good not only the individual worshippers, but also

the surrounding district. Sometimes also the Deva delivers a sort

of colour-sermon, mostly without spoken words, passing the

colours through a series of mutations, and showing the effect of

love upon other people. Incense of various kinds is used

throughout the service; acting mainly upon the etheric bodies.

The Blue or Devotional Temples work principally with sound,

the general procedure being very similar to that in the Crimson

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Temples, with music instead of colour as the predominant element.

Each person brings his own specially-magnetised instrument,

somewhat like a circular harp with strings of shining metal, upon

which he plays and through which he receives spiritual influence.

The whole atmosphere is surcharged by the Gandharvas or music-

Devas, so that every sound is multiplied, and for every tone a

great chord of overtones and undertones, all of unearthly

sweetness and beauty, are created. The Blue Temple services

affect principally the astral and buddhic bodies of the people.

In the Yellow or Intellectual Temples a service of identical

structure is performed, built upon the creation of mental forms

or images, the effects being produced mainly on the mental and

causal bodies of the worshippers, who give themselves in

surrender to the white heat of intellectuality raised to its

highest power. By intensity of intellectual activity the

worshippers attain first a mental understanding, and then by

intense pressure break through into the world of the intuition;

some actually leaving the body, others passing into a kind of

Samâdhi.

In all the Temples great emphasis is laid on the training of

the will, the effect being prominently shown by the intense glow

of the causal bodies; it reacts also upon the mental bodies and

even the physical brain, which appears to be distinctly larger

than with men of the Fifth Race. The Sympathy or Green Temple may

be considered as that of the Karma-Yoga, as the Blue and the

Crimson represent the Bhakti-Yoga, and the Yellow the Jñâna-Yoga.

The Green Temple service is concerned with practical activity,

the worshippers working with plans for helping the world in

numerous ways, and is under the guidance of the line of the

Healing Devas.

Each man, as said, works through the particular Temple that

appeals to him most; there being no difference in advancement

between those who follow one line and those who follow another.

The habitual attendants of one Temple, moreover, occasionally

visit the others. A few people do not attend any of the Temples,

but are not on that account considered irreligious or in any way

inferior to the most regular attendants. It is simply a matter of

temperament; and there is complete freedom and tolerance.

The Chohan Koot Hoomi, who, as said; is in charge of the

whole of the religious and educational life of the community,

visits all the Temples in turn, and takes the place of the

officiating Deva.

In the community, education is considered of paramount

importance. All sorts of adjuncts are employed; such as colour,

light, perfume, sound, form, electricity, and the Devas who take

such a large part in the work use armies of nature-spirits. All

teachers must be clairvoyant, and are men and women

indiscriminately. Devas frequently materialise to give certain

lessons, but do not seem to take sole charge of a school. All the

people being immediate reincarnations, most of them have some

memory of their past lives, so that even tiny children are fully

aware of the purpose of the community, and endeavour to get

254

control of their new vehicles as quickly as possible.

Great attention is given to the training of the imagination,

and visualisation is practised very thoroughly. Arithmetic is

greatly simplified, the decimal system is universally employed;

and practically all calculation is done by books of tables or by

calculating machines. Spelling is phonetic, and writing something

like short hand, which can be written at least as fast as an

ordinary person can speak. The language is English, though much

modified. Nobody learns history, except isolated interesting

stories, but in every house is an epitome of all history.

Geography is learnt to a limited extent, chiefly with reference

to races and their characteristics. No one, in general, troubles

to learn what can be turned up in a moment in a book of

reference, the scheme being thus strictly utilitarian.

A boy of twelve usually has in his brain the entire memory

of what he knew in his previous lives, talismans being used to

help the child to recover his memory of past lives.

There are children's services in the Temples; in which they

sing and play on instruments whilst performing graceful

evolutions. They also perform on an open plain a representation

of the movement of the planets round the sun. Whilst they

thoroughly enjoy this, they fully recognise that it is a

religious function. Another dance indicates the transference of

life from the Moon Chain to the Earth Chain. All sorts of

instruction is given to the children in this way, half a play and

half a religious ceremony. The children are dressed in delicate

yet brilliant hues, performing complicated evolutions requiring

much training in drill, yet they are most enthusiastic about it.

Education and religion are thus so closely mingled that it is

difficult clearly to differentiate one from the other.

Parentage is a matter of arrangement between all parties

concerned, and death is usually voluntary. Disease has been

practically eliminated, so that except for rare accidents no one

dies save of old age, and they do not drop the body as long as it

is useful. Nobody appears old until at least eighty, and many

pass beyond the century.

When a man feels his powers are waning he selects a father

and mother whom he thinks would suit him; if they agree, he hands

them his personal talisman, and sends to them any personal

effects he wishes to carry over to his next life. The personal

talisman is usually a jewel, fully impregnated with the magnetism

of the man, and correspondent to his name as an ego - a name in

many cases used in ordinary life. When a man wishes to cease

living, he merely loses the will to live, and generally passes

away peacefully in sleep within a short period of time. Often he

takes up his abode with his prospective parents and dies at their

house.

There is no funeral ceremony of any kind, nor do friends

assemble. The body is placed in a retort and reduced to a fine

grey powder by means of an acid and a power resembling

electricity.

As a general rule people are karmically free to choose their

255

next birth, though in rare cases the Manu may alter the plan, if

He does not approve of it.

Parents usually arrange to have ten or twelve children,

generally the same number of boys and girls, there being usually

an interval of two or three years between successive children,

and twins or even triplets being not uncommon. No cripples or

deformed persons are to be seen, there is no infant mortality,

and the labour of child-birth has diminished almost to vanishing-

point.

People fall in love and marry for life much as now, though

even in such matters duty to the community is stronger than

personal preference. Ordinary sex passions have been dominated,

the creation of healthy bodies for children being regarded as a

religious and magical act, and marriage as an opportunity to that

end.

Marriage takes place only with the sanction of the Manu and

is regarded almost entirely from the point of view of the

prospective offspring. Often a pair who wish to marry have two or

three egos waiting to incarnate in their future children.

Marriage is monogamous, there is no divorce, though the agreement

is always terminable by mutual consent. In most cases it is

continued for life, but if it ceases either party is free to form

other alliances. The strongest ties are probably between parents

and children. People of the same type do not usually marry,

unless it is desired to produce children for training by Devas

for a particular Temple.

The greatest honour of all is to be born in the family of

the Manu, but of course He selects His children Himself.

The Council consists only of men and, under the direction of

the Manu; its members are making experiments in the creation of

mind-born bodies.

The Race is white in colour; though some have darker hair

and eyes and a Spanish or Italian complexion. None of the men are

under six feet, and the women are nearly as tall. All are

muscular and well-proportioned; and preserve a free and graceful

carriage even to extreme old age.

The settlements, each with its Temples, public buildings and

schools, consist of groups of villas thinly scattered amidst

parks and gardens.

The houses and other buildings are usually entirely open to

the air, though the spaces between the pillars supporting the

roof may be closed by a substance which can be made transparent

at will. Domes of many shapes and sizes are a prominent feature.

Nowhere are there corners, all rooms being circular or oval.

Every house is full of flowers and statues, and there is

abundance of water everywhere. At night the domes of the houses

are made to glow out in a mass of light, the colour of which can

be changed at will.

There is very little furniture, the people sitting and

sleeping on cushions on the floors; which are of marble or other

polished stone.

Clothing is simple and graceful, somewhat like that of India

256

or ancient Greece; it is exclusively linen or cotton, brilliant

and delicate colours being worn equally by both sexes. Nothing is

worn on the head or the feet, as a rule.

The community is entirely vegetarian, and mostly takes its

meals in open-air restaurants. Fruit, which is extensively

cultivated, is very largely eaten, as well as prepared foods

which can be had in many colourings and flavourings.

Enormous quantities of sea-water are distilled and then

distributed on a liberal scale. The necessary chemicals are added

to make the distilled water fresh, sparkling and thirst-

quenching.

In each house a permanent fitting is a comprehensive

encyclopædia containing an epitome of practically all 4~ that is

known, expressed tersely and yet with much detail. In the

district libraries, attached to each Temple, is an even fuller

encyclopædia, containing an epitome of every book written on each

subject. In the central library, which is on a scale commensurate

with the British Museum; may be found the original books in the

old languages as well as English translations in the abbreviated

script of the day.

The daily newspaper is replaced by a machine which M is a

combination of telephone and recording tape-machine. Important

news is sent, in epitome, to each house, and anyone can obtain

full information on any item by ringing up the central office,

all that is available being then sent along the wire and printed

in the house. The same instrument is used for adding slips to the

household encyclopædias.

The Manu sometimes promulgates edicts or information by

speaking in the central Temple, His words being reproduced in all

the other Temples simultaneously.

Study, of animals or plants, for example, is done never by

destruction, but by clairvoyance. In the museums are life-size

statues of all races of men which have ever existed on the earth,

and also of those on other planets of this chain. With each

statue is a full description, with diagrams, showing in what way

the higher vehicles differ. Much of the future also is shown,

with models.

As there is no illness, there is no medical department,

though there is surgery for the rare cases of accident.

There is an elaborate museum of every kind of art and craft

that has ever existed; with models of every kind of machinery,

including much of Atlantean times.

History is being written direct from the Âkâshic Records,

and illustrated by a precipitation of important scenes from those

Records. There is a machine which reproduces audibly and visibly

any scene from history that may be required.

Astronomical observatories exist, and also instruments

indicating the positions at any moment of the heavenly bodies.

Much astronomical information has been given by Devas, though

this is kept distinct from that obtained by direct observation.

Chemistry has been enormously advanced, and includes the

elemental essence, this leading on to the department of nature-

257

spirits and Devas. In the talisman department any sensitive

person can by psychometry go beyond the models and see the things

in themselves.

Lecturing is largely replaced by printed information.

Painting is done only as a recreation. All life is permeated by

art, even the simplest objects being beautifully made. There are

no theatres, the histrionic art being considered archaic and

childish. The choric dances and processions are regarded rather

as religious exercises.

Games, athletics and gymnastics are much practised, both by

women and by men.

Much is done by the direct power of the will, and nature-

spirits take a prominent part in the life of the community.

Messages are sent telepathically, chiefly by children, who are

usually more proficient in the art than adults.

As already said; the community is practically self-

supporting, importing only ancient manuscripts, books and objects

of art; these are paid for with money brought into the community

by outside tourists and visitors, as the community does not use

money for its own internal purposes. Jewels and gold are made

alchemically, and are sometimes used also to pay for imported

articles.

Everyone is free to choose what work he will do for the

community. Education is free, but university training is provided

only to those who can benefit by it and need it for the work they

propose to undertake.

Each person receives a number of tokens entitling him to

food and clothing. Machinery is so perfect that, in the cloth

factories, for example, it is almost silent, and is operated

chiefly by young girls.

By this time the whole world has given up the use of heat to

generate power. At first the whole water-power of the earth was

utilised to generate electricity, which was then transferred for

enormous distances without loss. Later this was superseded by a

method of utilising the force in physical atoms - the force that

Keely called dynaspheric force - which is supplied free and in

unlimited quantities to everyone all over the world; for all

possible purposes. Dirt has been practically eliminated, so that

factories are as beautiful and clean as private houses.

Three hours is considered a fair average day’s work; the

machinery is very largely automatic. In the restaurants there is

a system of relay for the staff. Even cooking is mainly automatic

and a matter of pressing knobs and switches.

Mean or dirty work no longer exists, and no work is

considered inferior to any other. Mining has been given up

because nearly anything can be made alchemically. Many new alloys

have been invented.

All agricultural work is done by machinery, largely

automatic; even machinery is made by other machinery. Instead of

drains, each house has a chemical converter which reduce

everything to a grey powder, something like ashes. There are no

servants, as there is practically nothing for them to do. When

258

required, people help one another.

There is little private property, the principle of the

community being to enjoy things, not to own them. But if a man

wishes to procure anything for himself he can earn the means of

doing so by working for the community.

Roads are scarcely streets, but drives through the park. The

roadway is made of one piece, the surface being beautifully

polished stone, with a grain like granite and a surface like

marble. Some are pale rose colour, others pale green. They are

flooded with water every morning and so kept spotlessly clean.

As there is nothing but polished stone and grass; people go

barefooted; there is a shallow trough of running water at the

entrance of every building to cleanse and cool the feet.

Every house possesses several light metal filigree vehicles,

somewhat like bath-chairs, with highly elastic tyres. They run at

high speed with perfect smoothness, and are of course driven by

the universal power, obtained by charging up from power-taps.

There is little heavy transport. Although the rest of the world

uses flying machines, the community rather despises aerial

locomotion, feeling that they should be able to travel instead in

their astral bodies. At school they receive a course of lessons

in the projection of the astral body.

The climate is almost ideal; there being no real winter.

Flowers are universally cultivated, the whole country being

irrigated even where it is not cultivated. Plants which require

additional heat are surrounded with little jets of the power in

its heat form.

Enormous advances have been made also by the rest of the

world. Europe has become a Confederation, with a central body of

representatives, which adjusts matters, the Kings of the various

countries being its Presidents in rotation. These changes were

brought about, some time in the twentieth century, by a

reincarnation of Julius Cæsar, whose work to a great extent

coincided with that of the World Teacher. Cæsar persuades all

countries to give up war and to spend the money, previously spent

on armaments, on social improvements, which include the abolition

of all slums and the introduction of great improvements in all

cities. He has to help him an exceedingly capable band of people,

reincarnations of Napoleon, Scipio Africanus, Akbar and others.

For the preliminary meeting of the Confederation he builds a

circular hall with many doors, so that all may enter at once, no

one Potentate taking precedence of another.

All this becomes possible largely on account of the new era

opened by the arrival and preaching of the World Teacher. The

religion of the world now is founded on His teaching, though

there are still some survivals of the older religions, which are

looked upon generally as rather out-of-date. The general state of

affairs is greatly improved; there is a small force used only for

police purposes; poverty has practically disappeared; slums are

replaced by parks and gardens.

The altered English, written in a kind of shorthand with

many grammalogues, is the universal commercial and literary

259

language, and is rapidly superseding the tongues of the different

countries. Most books, for example, are printed in it, including

translations of all specially good books written in other

languages.

In the community, books are printed on pale sea-green paper

in dark blue ink, being less trying for the eyes than black on

white, and the same plan is being adopted all over the world.

Civilised rule has spread all over the world; so that there are

no real savages to be seen.

Each nation still thinks of itself with pride, but they no

longer fear one another; there is no suspicion, and therefore far

greater fraternity. Crime is much reduced, because people know

more, but chiefly because they are much more content.

The new religion has spread widely, and its influence is

strong; it is entirely scientific, so that religion and science,

though separate, are no longer opposed. People discuss the

different kinds of spirit-communion, and quarrel as to whether it

is safe to listen to any spooks except those authorised and

guaranteed by the orthodox authorities of the time.

Schools exist everywhere, but not under the control of the

Church, except those for training preachers. There being no

poverty, there is no need for philanthropy. Hospitals are

Government institutions. All necessaries of life are controlled,

so that there are no serious fluctuations in their price.

Luxuries, objects of art, and so on, are still in the hands of

private trade. Much of the land is held nominally from the King;

it may descend from father to son, but only with the consent of

the authorities. Mining is much reduced, many of the old mines in

the north of Europe being used as sanatoria for consumption or

bronchial or other affections; because of their equable

temperature. Metals are raised from great depths, nearly all the

work being done by machines. Iron is obtained with much less

trouble than previously.

In England all real power is in the hands of the King; there

is no parliament, but there is something of the nature of the

referendum. Everybody has the right to make representations,

which receive prompt attention. The monarchy is still hereditary,

the British Empire acknowledging the one King. Some Colonial

Governors hold their offices by heredity and are like tributary

Monarchs.

Fires and smoke have been abolished everywhere. Most things

seem to be supplied on the principle of turning on a tap, thanks

to the introduction of the universal power. Cities, though

larger, are much looser; there being many more parks and gardens.

The irrigation system in Holland has been enormously improved,

the whole of the water being changed every day and exhausted far

out to sea. Dyes, foodstuffs and other articles are obtained by

distillation of sea-water. Tropical trees are grown in the

streets, kept warm by a flow of the power in its heat aspect.

The streets were at first roofed and warmed; but when the

unlimited power was introduced the roofs were abolished. China

does not seem to have changed its civilisation very much, though

260

there is a good deal of superficial change.

India also has not changed much fundamentally, the

immemorial village being still a village; but there are no

famines. The country is grouped in two or three big kingdoms, but

is still part of the British Empire. There is much more

intermarriage with white races and the caste system has to a

great extent broken down.

Tibet has been opened up, and is accessible to flying

machines, though even these sometimes have difficulties owing to

the rarity of the air at a great height.

Central Africa has become a sort of Switzerland with many

great hotels. The Theosophical Society still exists, and devotes

itself principally to its second and third Objects; the first

having largely been achieved. It has a great central University,

with subsidiary centres in various parts of the world. The

present Headquarters building is replaced by a gorgeous palace

with an enormous dome, the central part in imitation of the Tâj

Mahâl; but much larger. There is a special department for occult

chemistry, with beautiful models. The Secret Doctrine still

exists, transcribed into the universal language.

The Society is a distinct department in the science of the

world, having a long line of specialities which no one else seems

to teach. It turns out a vast amount of literature, and keeps

alive interest in the old religions and in forgotten things. It

is issuing on a magnificent scale a vast series of text-books

somewhat resembling the ”Sacred Books of the East” of our day.

The literary department is enormous, and is the centre of a

world-wide organisation. Adyar is still the centre of the work

and is a place of pilgrimage. Colonel Olcott; a lieutenant of the

Manu and working in California, is still the nominal President of

the Society, and visits the Headquarters at least once every two

years. In spite of the fact that practically all the 1OO,OOO

members of the Community have passed through the Theosophical

Society, there is still a huge Society left to carry on the work

at Adyar and in the other centres all over the world.

In the life of the Community, there will be scope for the

keenest intelligence, the greatest ingenuity and ability in every

direction. But all these will be useless without the capacity of

instant obedience and utter trust in the Masters, Who arrange the

whole plan and guide everything with watchful care.

Those who join the Community will have to incarnate over and

over again in rapid succession, trying each time to bring their

bodies nearer to the model set before them by the Manu. This is a

laborious and trying piece of work, but absolutely necessary for

the establishment of the new type of humanity which is required

for the Race.

The opportunity of volunteering for this work is now open to

all.

The above is an account merely of the beginnings of the

sixth Root-Race; it bears much the same proportion to the life of

the whole Race as the gathering of the few thousands on the shore

of the sea that washed the south-eastern part of Ruta bore to the

261

great fifth Root-Race that is now leading the world. It is not

known how long it will be before America will be rent in pieces

by earthquakes and volcanic outbursts; and a new continent will

be thrown up in the Pacific to be the home of the Sixth Race.

Gradually will the new continent be upheaved, and the land that

was once Lemuria will arise from its age-long sleep and once more

lie beneath the rays of the sun; for the continent of the sixth

Root-Race will occupy, roughly, the Lemurian site.

The sixth Root-Race will of course have its seven sub-races,

and from the seventh sub-race will be chosen the germs from which

will be created the seventh Root-Race. This, of course, will be

the work of the Manu of the seventh Root-Race, and He will also

arrange for the usual seven sub-races in His Root-Race. But of

that work nothing is as yet known. The seventh Root-Race will be

especially concerned with the unfoldment of the Sat, or pure

existence, aspect of the Divine Life, known also as the Father,

the Creator and the Destroyer, to the Hindus as Matâdeva.

When the seventh Race has run its turn, the Earth will be

vacated - except for the usual nucleus which is left behind - and

the main life-stream will pass to Mercury. There the life will be

somewhat less material than it is on the Earth, and the average

level of consciousness may be somewhat more extended; since

ordinary humanity will then possess what is now called etheric

sight.

From Mercury the life-stream will pass, in the usual course,

to Globes F and G. After that again the fifth round will

commence; to be followed in due course by the sixth and seventh

rounds, after which our earth chain will vanish, to be succeeded

by another chain - the fifth of the series.

262

CHAPTER LV

LIFE ON MARS AND MERCURY

THE condition of Mars at present is by no means unpleasant. Being

smaller than the Earth, it lives its life as a planet more

quickly. When humanity occupied it in the third round, there was

much more water than land on its surface. Now, in its comparative

old age, there is far less water surface than land. Large areas

are now desert, covered with bright orange sand, which gives the

planet its peculiar hue. If irrigated, these deserts would

probably be fertile enough.

The present small population consists practically of members

of the inner round, and they live in the equatorial lands, where

the temperature is highest and there is plenty of water. Whilst,

as we have seen, many of the more advanced members of our present

humanity were not on Mars when the life-stream last swept over

it, yet the great bulk of the human race passed through a series

of incarnations on the planet, leaving behind many traces of

their occupation, of which the present inhabitants abundantly

avail them selves.

The canal system was constructed by the second order of moon

-men when they last occupied the planet, and brings the water

from the annual melting of the fringe of the polar snow-caps. The

double line, some times seen by astronomers, is due to a second

parallel canal built to receive any possible overflow from the

main canal. The canals themselves are not visible from the earth;

what is seen is the belt of verdure on each side of the canals.

In the inhabited portions of the planet the climate is very good,

the day temperature being usually about 70º Fahrenheit, though

there is generally a touch of frost at night. Clouds are almost

unknown, so that there is very little rain or snow.

The Martians are mot unlike ourselves in appearance, though

most of the men are two or three inches under five feet in

height. They are somewhat broad in proportion, with great chest

capacity. There are blondes and brunettes, some having a faintly

yellowish skin and black hair, while the majority have yellow

hair and blue or violet eyes.

They dress mostly in brilliant colours, having the feet

usually bare, though sometimes covered by a metal sandal or

slipper. They are very fond of flowers; their towns being garden-

cities; the houses of one storey only. The walls are built of

something like coloured glass, so fluted that those inside can

see clearly to the outside, but people outside cannot see into

the houses.

The houses are constructed of a material which is poured

into a mould and left till it sets. Doors run back into the walls

on each side; and are of metal; like all furniture and fittings.

They have one language only, which has been simplified to

the last possible extent. They speak into a box, something like a

telephone; the mechanism recording what has been said upon a

small metal plate, which can be read by those who understand the

263

script. Writing by hand is vastly more difficult, the script

being a very complicated shorthand. Books are printed in this

shorthand, on flexible metal rolls, in minute type which is read

by means of a magnifier, the scroll being automatically unrolled

at any desired rate.

Electricity is the sole motive power; and laboursaving

machinery of all sorts is universally employed. The people are,

on the whole, distinctly indolent; much of the work is done by

domestic animals very highly trained.

One autocratic ruler governs the whole planet; but the

monarchy is not hereditary. Polygamy is practised, but all

children are handed over to the State to be reared and educated,

and most people do not know who are their parents. The children

are carefully sorted and trained according to their aptitudes,

the most capable being trained to become members of the ruling

class. From this class the King chooses all officials and

appoints his successor.

Disease has been eliminated, and they hardly ever even feel

old. When the desire to live fades away a man dies. Sometimes, at

his own request, he is painlessly put to death.

The people have absolutely no religion; there are no

churches, temples, priests; or ecclesiastical power. Nothing is

considered to be true save that which can be scientifically

demonstrated, and to believe anything which cannot be so

demonstrated is not only foolish but a positive crime, being a

danger to the public peace. In the past the Martians, like us,

have suffered from religious persecutions, and they have

determined that such things shall never occur again. Hence now

physical science and reason reign supreme.

Nevertheless there has existed on Mars for many centuries a

secret brotherhood which not only believes in superphysical

worlds but knows practically of their existence, for its members

took up the direct study of mesmerism and spiritualism, and many

of them developed a good deal of power. The head of the secret

society is a pupil of one of our Masters. The existence of the

society, which is now very widespread, is not known officially to

the authorities, though they suspect its existence and fear it.

For when any of the suspected persons have been injured or

unjustly put to death it has been noticed that the persons

concerned in bringing about that result have died prematurely or

mysteriously. It has consequently come to be understood that it

is safer not to interfere with the suspected persons, so long as

they do not openly profess anything which could be considered

subversive of the good morals of materialism.

Some members of the secret society have learnt to cross the

space which separates Mars from the earth, and have tried to

manifest at spiritualistic seances, or have been able to impress

their ideas upon poets and novelists.

Driven into inhospitable and impenetrable forests, there

still exist remnants of the savages descended from those left

behind when the life-stream left Mars for the earth. They are

lower in evolution than any now living on the surface of the

264

earth, though somewhat resembling one of our interior evolutions.

Turning to Mercury, little investigation has been carried

out so far, so that little is known. Although the sun appears at

least seven times as large as it does here; the heat is not too

intense, because there is a layer of gas which prevents most of

it from penetrating. If a storm for a moment disturbs this

gaseous envelope; the direct sunlight shines through; destroys

whatever life comes in its way, and burns everything combustible.

The inhabitants are much like ourselves; though again

smaller. The doors of the houses are a considerable height from

the ground, but owing to the influence of gravity being less than

half what it is here, only a slight spring is required to reach

them. All the inhabitants from birth possess etheric sight.

265

CHAPTER LVI

CONCLUSION

This book brings to an end the series of five works, o f which

the first four were The Etheric Double, The Astral Body, The

Mental Body, and The Causal Body and the Ego, the whole being

intended to be almost an encyclopædia of what we may call the

technical aspect of modern Theosophy. Throughout the series the

plan has been identical, namely, to present to the student a

compilation of the information contained in the books of the best

known and accredited writers of to-day, chief among whom stand

Dr. Annie Besant and Bishop C. W. Leadbeater. The whole five

books have been compiled, quite frankly, in the main for those

members of the Theosophical Society, and others; who recognise

and accept the two occult writers named as reliable authorities

on these matters. Their statements have been taken, deliberately,

at their face value; as accurate and reliable, and no attempt

whatever has been made to justify or prove any of them.

As mentioned in one of the other volumes; the writings of H.

P. Blavatsky have been referred to only occasionally; this, so

far from being any disparagement of their value, is rather a

confession of weakness on the part of the compiler, who has

neither the time nor the knowledge to study and sift her

monumental volumes and extract from them the immense mass of

information they contain. That work must be left to others better

qualified.

The series of five books being, as said, essentially

compilations, marginal references have been given throughout, so

that the student may make any use of them he chooses. Only on

very rare occasions has the compiler ventured to intrude any

personal reflections or opinions of his own on the matters under

consideration, though the temptation to do so has of course

frequently been felt. In this, the concluding chapter of the

series; he may perhaps be forgiven for adding just a very few

reflections of his own, as he surveys the work that has occupied

him closely for more than five years.

In considering the mass of details concerned with the

material mechanism of the spiritual entity we know as man, the

mind is naturally impressed by the immensity of the plan of

evolution, the inexorable and stately march by which Nature

attains her divine ends, seemingly regardless of labour- and

time-immensities which leave our still-human imaginations

breathless with wonder and awe. So greatly does Nature deal with

her work, so divine is the destiny she has planned for the

children she brings to birth.

Voluminous as may seem the mass of detailed information we

have accumulated regarding the nature of man and of the world in

which he lives, it is; as every student knows only too well, but

a few grains gathered from the sands on the shores of the

illimitable ocean of truth. So tiny and fractional, indeed, does

it all seem that at times one is tempted to doubt whether it is

266

worth while to expend time and force in gathering a handful of

fragments out of the virtually infinite mass of possible

knowledge.

But, perhaps, it is better for us to take as our test of

value, not so much the mere quantity of knowledge we can gather -

that is admittedly insignificant - as its quality. It is the kind

of knowledge; its essential nature, that can so profoundly affect

our lives, and can inspire us with some notion of the incredibly

magnificent future that awaits us, if we will, and that should

urge us to live as the Gods we in essence are.

The value of studying the past, however remote, may even

because it is so remote, and however little it may seem at first

to have any ”practical” bearing on the present, is admirably

expressed by Hilaire Belloc in his work The 01d Road. He writes:

”To study something of great age until one grows familiar with it

and almost to live in its time, is not merely to satisfy a

curiosity or to establish aimless truths; it is rather to fulfil

a function whose appetite has always rendered History a

necessity. By the recovery of the Past; stuff and being are added

to us; our lives which; lived in the present only, are a film or

surface; take on body - are lifted into one dimension more. The

soul is fed. Reverence and knowledge and security and the love of

a good land - all these are increased or given by the pursuit of

this kind of learning. Visions or intimations are confirmed. It

is excellent to see the crimes we know ground under the slow

wheels whose ponderous advance we can hardly note during the

flash of one human life. One may say that historical learning

grants men glimpses of life completed and a whole; and such a

vision should be the chief solace of whatever is mortal and cut

off imperfectly from fulfilment.”

As to the future, the Theosophical Society has perhaps

served the world in no way better than by affording knowledge of

those more evolved Men whom we know as Masters. To-day, there are

of course many, doubtless both within and without the

Theosophical Society; who are able to confirm of their own

experience what prominent occultists have stated regarding the

nature of these great and lovable Beings, and the work They do

for the world. Some, again, are becoming more and more able

themselves to share in that work, by becoming ”apprentices” of

the Master-workers. The work which the Masters are doing; writes

C. W. Leadbeater ( The Inner Life, I, 540), ”this work of the

evolution of humanity, is the most fascinating thing in the whole

world. Sometimes those of us who have been able to develop the

faculties of the higher planes have been allowed a glimpse of

that mighty scheme - have witnessed the lifting of a tiny corner

of the veil. I know of nothing more stirring, more absorbingly

interesting. The splendour, the colossal magnitude of the plans

take away one's breath, yet even more impressive is the calm

dignity, the utter certainty of it all. Not individuals only, but

nations, are the pieces in this game; but neither nation nor

individual is compelled to play any given part. The opportunity

to play that part is given to it or to him; if he or it will not

267

take it, there is invariably an understudy ready to step in and

fill the gap.”

The student should not be misled by the necessarily

fragmentary and limited scope of the occult investigations which

have so far been made; into imagining that the few groups

mentioned; such as the Servers, are in any sense the most

important or the most significant in our evolution. These few

groups are introduced into the story merely because they are the

ones with which the comparatively few people who at present take

interest in these matters are primarily concerned, they

themselves belonging to such groups. There may be, there must be,

many other groups equally or even more significant than the

Servers and the few others mentioned. The Path of Service is one

of the many paths; who is there who dares to say that any one

path is greater or to be preferred to any other path? All roads

lead to the one goal, and the Monads no doubt have their own

sufficient reasons for selecting any particular path for this

cycle of their evolution.

Some there are who must live to help and to serve others,

for that is their nature; that is the line they, as Monads, have

chosen for themselves. Others live to know, to learn all the

wonders, the magic and the mystery of this incredibly marvellous

universe. That, too, is their nature. Is then the God of

Knowledge to be accounted less than the God of Service? Others

again do not take service as their primary goal, nor do they

limit themselves to acquiring and using knowledge. They seek,

perhaps, to live perfectly, to express in perfection God as Life.

Yet others model their lives on the ancient saying that ”the

nature of the Self is bliss”; they seek to help the God of

Happiness to achieve His divine purpose of creating; maintaining

and adding to the happiness of all beings. And then there is the

Path of Love. What shall be said of that? Is it the greatest of

all the Paths - at all times; and for all people? Could the

universe be brought to being, developed in all its superb

structural complexity, and brought to full fruition, by Love and

Love alone ? These are hard questions, and even here the wise

will perhaps refrain from dogmatism, lest they fall into error

through vision which is not yet all-inclusive.

If the possibilities of Life are infinite in majesty, in

power, in love; in action, in happiness, surely there is ample

scope, may even need, for some to seek perfection of Life, to

become Life, to fulfil the plan of Life, by these or by any other

of Life’s limitless and infinitely versatile aspects.

One last word of apology. In a work of this nature,

involving close application to detail, and at the same time

covering an immense field, wrought out alone and unaided,

mistakes, both of commission and omission; must inevitably have

occurred. Should any student detect any of these, would he be so

kind as to inform the compiler, so that, in the event of future

editions; the errors may be set right?

A. E. POWELL.

268

Table of Contents

CHAPTER PAGE

BOOK AUTHOR EDITION ATION

CHAPTER I

CHAPTER II

CHAPTER III

CHAPTER IV

CHAPTER V

CHAPTER VI

CHAPTER VII

CHAPTER VIII

CHAPTER IX

CHAPTER X

CHAPTER XI

CHAPTER XII

CHAPTER XIII

CHAPTER XIV

CHAPTER XV

CHAPTER XVI

CHAPTER XVII

CHAPTER XVIII

CHAPTER XIX

CHAPTER XX

CHAPTER XXI

CHAPTER XXII

CHAPTER XXIII

CHAPTER XXIV

CHAPTER XXV

CHAPTER XXVI

CHAPTER XXVII

CHAPTER XXVIII

CHAPTER XXIX

CHAPTER XXX

CHAPTER XXXI

CHAPTER XXXII

CHAPTER XXXIII

CHAPTER XXXIV

CHAPTER XXXV

CHAPTER XXXVI

CHAPTER XXXVII

CHAPTER XXXVIII

CHAPTER XXXIX

CHAPTER XL

CHAPTER XLI

CHAPTER XLIII

CHAPTER XLIV

CHAPTER XLV

CHAPTER XLVI

CHAPTER XLVII

CHAPTER XLVIII

CHAPTER XLIX

CHAPTER L

CHAPTER LI

CHAPTER LII

CHAPTER LIII

CHAPTER LIV

CHAPTER LV

CHAPTER LVI