Thomas,
et al ... no one here questions that Humanity is not the "paradigm for perfection." But I think we're dealing with a slight logical fallacy, or perhaps a good ol' classic
catch 22 in our thinking on this one. If
we aren't the `standard,' then that's fine,
but then ... how can we possibly understand the standard - except relative to where we are, where we've been, and where we're all headed, spiritually ... or evolutionarily?
Theosophy agrees with what MOST of the world's religions teach, EXOTERICALLY ... which is usually elaborated in more detail: that evolution of the
Inner Being occurs through a
descent into matter (from a more spiritual
state of being, our Divine heritage). The densest point of incarnation is the stone, or mineral. Then we
turn, and begin the ascent towards Spirit again. And on the way, we pass through the vegetable evolution, the animal evolution, the human evolution, and finally,
the Kingdom of Souls, of God, or of Heaven, as it has been referred to in Christian teachings.
The memories of these experiences -
even in prior human incarnations - are not open to most of us,
yet, but Nick has started a thread or two in months past regarding past-life memories, and probably dozens of such threads or discussions have taken place at C-R over the years. My own memories span 7 or 8 of the most recent previous incarnations of my own soul, and of my closest friends and associates I've experienced either memories, `co-memories,' or
impressions from probably about
3 dozen different individuals at one point or another. In one or two cases, I am confident I can track up to 3 or 4 previous incarnations shared.
It would, of course, be
absurd for anyone to try and tell me that
I've simply imagined these ... or that it's
wish fulfilment, or that
somehow, someday, I'll come to a more accurate, reasonable, or `Christian' explanation. No, Brother, not a chance. I've dismissed a couple of presumed `memories' already - things I believed perhaps 25 years ago, and which turn out to have been more or less
placeholders in my memory for the
simple fact of reincarnation. All of us, I am confident, will one day "know." And I'm sure I will be able to know
better, more and from
greater perspective(s) - yet one does not suddenly learn that mathematics, or biology, is
bunk. One simply finds more uses, better applications, and previously unrecognized
data ...
Now that may seem presumptuous, but all I can do beyond a certain point
is keep mum.
What does this have to do with
Humanity as a standard, or as not being the ideal for perfection? Everything. Those who can see with increasing clarity and accuracy the past few
cycles of their own Soul's incarnations will gain understanding of the connections that bind us all. These connections can be observed,
literally, organically, and vitally, from the physical (etheric) level, to the astral-emotional level, and within the Mental world our thoughts continually impact and influence those around us,
24/7 so to speak, while the thoughts of everyone in our immediate environment - as well as the greater mental world at large - affect us likewise.
Anyone knowing the
least bit about egregoires, and having the
slightest faith or confidence in their
actual existence ... should, and probably DOES, know all this to be true. Such a one therefore ought to know (if he has made the observation and faithfully recorded it) that the world of human thought (and Angelic) is
not simply a
confused, undirected, darkened mass of energies, since this refers - at best (or worst) - to the
lower, denser portions of the astral plane.
The higher regions (
TO the extent that they have been experienced and recorded) will be known to him
by, with and as -
clarity, as the true home of the Soul (in its
densest state of direct relation to the outer persona), and as having Illumination for their outstanding quality or characteristic.
The lowest strata of the Mental world do not conduct and convey the Light of Higher Mind, and can therefore be difficult to navigate for folks such as ourselves -
without our siddhis yet developed - but every disciple learns, in time, how to quickly bypass the most common pitfalls and move to "higher ground." Dissipating astral glamour is something the disciple must continue to work with, and the Illusions of lower mind continue to challenge even High Initiates, on occasion -
as we know:"The [lower] mind is the great slayer of the Real. Let the disciple slay the slayer." (HPB, The Voice of the Silence)
Every Initiate knows, either within the body or out of it, that his own prior incarnations, if looking in reverse, stretch far, far back to a time - either on this planet or another (the moon) - when he did not wear a human body. The stages
immediately prior to our Soul's descent may not have been in the animal kingdom, unless we
Individualized upon this globe, during Lemurian or Atlantean times. But the door to Individualized has been closed, temporarily, and thus -
somewhere, somehow, it is perhaps
almost accurate to say, that there really, really is,
a youngest, meekest, `freshest' human SOUL.
Exceptions will always arise, such as transfers from other planets, and animals whose association with us is such that unusual circumstances eventuate. A Heaven for dogs exists, of course, yet our animal friends are not likely to become
humans in the current cycle, we are told ... although they may yet accompany us for several additional
pet incarnations, gaining valuable experience which gives them a
head start when they
do start the Journey.
Understanding our relationship with beloved pets,
when either ourselves, our pets, or both
are OUT of incarnation ... requires an understanding of
Devachan - though of course this understanding can be found at the heart of
every great religious teaching on the afterlife,
esoteric and exoteric. One need not be scientifically or philosophically minded at all to grasp the simple truth that
"in Christ, all are One." Too bad some of us still just can't
get it, and see that
Buddha Nature, and the idea of the Sangha (esoterically understood,
not exoterically), conveys this same truth!
I've meandered, and said little of what I intended. As for the evolution of the Kingdoms, Mineral through Human -
and beyond, to the Kingdom of Heaven/God/Souls,
and even to Shambhala/Sirius/etc. - a chart or two might help. Some will not care for charts, but the most colorful chart
(below), which is Leadbeater's with my heavy editing, is meant to suggest the IDEA of the spiritual arrangement of the Occult Hierarchy of our planet. It
is the
hierarchy of Hierarchy, as it were ... paralleling what Alice Bailey later gave out with only minor differences.
I made many notations, in color, and have tried to show that the LOGOS Transcendent,
for our Planetary Scheme, has a reflection in the Hierarchy - as
the Manu, Bodhisattva (Christ), and
Maha Chohan. A second chart will set the record straight, if one bothers to contemplate the implications, for
just how tiny our little Earth's evolution is - even relative to our own Solar System. We are one of SEVEN or TEN Planetary Schemes of Evolution, as Nick has pointed out
again and again ... and
all of our human evolution occurs, for all intents & purposes, upon the planes (or within the
worlds) of Atma, Buddhi, Manas, Emotions (astral), and the Physical. Only our Parent Monad -
Our Father Who art in Heaven - dwells within the 2nd Highest Plane of the System ... and only the Logoic consciousness,
Planetary and Solar, normally functions upon the Highest Plane (
Adi, or `First' ... the Divine).
Seven or Ten Planetary Logoi ...
with 60 billion human units (Eternal Pilgrims, reincarnating Individualities) and
140 billion deva units belonging to EARTH ALONE
. Why in HEAVEN should we dare to think that a Great Scheme such as Saturn, or Jupiter, or Uranus might not hold
many times this number ... for a combined total of trillions upon trillions of Pilgrims,
JUST in our little Solar System. Perhaps one simply needs to become acquainted with the esoteric teachings, and discover that
DOZENS or Orders,
and types, or Spiritual entities populate the astral, Mental, Buddhic and Atmic spheres - existing in FOUR, FIVE, SIX and SEVEN dimensions (forget mathematics,
this is not some kind of logical abstraction - this is
lebensraum, to borrow the German)!!!
{No, I do not mean the Nazi political idea, but what other word conveys the notion of SEVEN-D `SPACE' as the HOME of various entities and the NATIVE or natural focus of their consciousness?}
HPB, of course, told us that SPACE is a Giant Entity ... and this is true of
our Planetary Space as a whole (encompassing
seven globes, and not just the
one visible globe which is currently
active), as well as the Solar System,
local group of Systems, every Arm of our Spiral Galaxy - and the Galaxy as a whole, this ONE of
so, so many billions.
It would be
ABSURD for anyone to believe, in this day and age, unless heavily stricken with the ostrich syndrome ... that
Humanity is all alone in the Universe (Cosmos, even Solar System, as we'll soon discover). Yet
exoteric religions, and the
three Monotheistic traditions more than any other it would seem, have struggled - and will struggle - the
most, as the New Revelation dawns ... that indeed, we are NOT the Divine Standard, and that in fact,
we really ARE a bit like
ants in an ant farm!!!
The Great Lord (
sic) from Venus, when He came, brought with Him
honey bees and
wheat, we are told, as
gifts ... perhaps from Logos to Logos. I like to think of this as
an ambassadorial gesture, though of course, the Great Sacrifice is why Sanat Kumara actually made this Journey, ~18 million years ago. This occurrence equates to the
literal incarnation of the Earth Logos,
upon the PHYSICAL PLANE, even though systemically He cannot "FALL" below the
Atmic or
Nirvanic (systemic) Plane. Ambassadors, from among the other Kumaras, have been periodically sent forth to Guide (and Guard) Humanity ... as this has been the pledge,
made by the Ancient of Days, to oversee our evolution until its close during the current cycle.
If it is said that
we are like honey bees (or ants) to him, in terms of our individual consciousnesses, then perhaps the comparision is not far off. Yet we know that
not a sparrow falls that the Lord does not know it, and I should think that if God loves birds, He probably gives a **** about people too, no?
Man, I just don't get it. You don't have to like charts, but somewhere there's either a thorn, or a stone lodged in there, if you can't see that
God loves all the world, and everybody, and every living creature in it! As the Silent Watcher, it is not even possible for Deity to
intervene, and
save us from ourselves - which is something that some of us might argue we
desperately need right now!
But even more than that, we need to learn the lesson(s) of
selflessness, vs. self
ISHness
, and
comradery vs. ego, cooperation vs. discord & chaos, solidarity vs. every man for himself ... and the fact that Peace must (begin to) prevail on Earth
before Christ can return, not afterwards. Humanity is the Instrument, the DIVINE instrument, through which all this can, and must be accomplished. Christ and the Masters already move amongst us, and lend us
every ounce of support that we have merited - and I'll bet a bunch that we
haven't, too ... like on some kind of cosmic `loan,' so to speak. We make it through this, and we can pay it forward,
with interest. But a smoldering cinder - and a planet full of
Souls in pralaya - will not further the Plan.
A chart or two:
Credits to Leadbeater, Heindel
(I think), and Jinarajadasa (x3) for the graphics ....
