We must now go back in time to a period in human history some eighteen millions of years ago! To students of the Ancient Wisdom this will have a familiar ring, for it denotes the middle of the third Root-Race. For those not so familiar with the teachings, it should be explained that Man has been on Earth far longer than is suspected by Science. Man's evolutionary journey brings him to this earth — through a long succession of reincarnations — during certain immense periods of time which give him ample opportunity to build civilizations to great heights of glory, and then to see them crumble in keeping with cyclical law. The civilizations recorded by history are but mere pointers to the vast number of such risings and fallings of nations.
This proceeds according to a plan; and within the compass of millions of years, the civilizations which appear do so as factors in certain great time periods known as Root-Races.1 Each such Root-Race is recognizable by certain characteristics. Space does not permit a detailed study of the character of the first and second Root-Races. It might be said only that they were of very long duration and that the beings belonging to these earliest races did not inhabit physical bodies that could leave any residues or fossils, so naturally there can be no record of them that would satisfy modern science.
The third Root-Race was becoming more physical in appearance (although were we able to see now one of the bodies of the humans of that time we would not believe our eyes!), but our study at this time does not concern itself with outward appearances. We have something much more interesting to learn about. There are certain facts of consciousness which will provide the thread of our narrative. Let us only say, in order to complete the picture to the present day, that we might term the third Root-Race the Lemurian, the fourth Root-Race, the Atlantean, and our present fifth Root-Race, the Âryan. We must caution the reader against forming too rigid a picture as to these earlier races. Much unreliable material has been written about Lemuria, so-called, and about Atlantis. Lemuria is supposed to have been a continent existing where the Pacific Ocean is at the present time, and Atlantis was supposed to have been a continent which once existed where the Atlantic Ocean now is.
The earth has undergone many changes during the millions of years that have passed since these early races flourished; and it would be safer to say perhaps that Lemuria is the term to be used for the world as a whole during the long time periods of the third Root-Race, and that Atlantis was the world during the time of the fourth Root-Race. The present fifth Root-Race, as said, is known as the Âryan Race, although we seldom identify one particular continent as being necessarily the home of the Âryan Race.
The derivations of the words Lemuria, Atlantis and Aryan are curious and in general do not refer to races of people. According to Lewis Spence in his book, The Problem of Lemuria:
“The name ‘Lemuria’ was given to the vanished continent of the Pacific by Philip Lutley Sclater, the naturalist, in the belief that within its area the Lemurs or lemuroid type of animal was evolved. It was speedily adopted as a striking and apposite title for the continental mass which many geologists believed had formerly filled a large part of the world's most extensive maritime basin.”
The subject of Lemuria has been highly romanticized by some writers, and a word of caution is in order here. Such theosophical teachings as have been given to us deal with the mid-point of the third or Lemurian race, at which time the “Descent of the Mânasaputras” took place — a sublime event in human history which will be dealt with in due course.
Atlantis is so called because it is supposed to have occupied that portion of the globe now covered by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. The world Atlantic means “of or pertaining to Atlas in Libya.” Also, according to Webster, “Atlantis, a traditional island west of the Pillars of Hercules, said to have been sunk beneath the ocean by an earthquake.”
Âryan, according to Webster's Dictionary: “From the Sanskrit Ârya meaning noble, or member of the upper castes. 1. A member of the Caucasian race one branch of which early occupied the Iranian plateau while another branch entered India and amalgamated with the primitive Indian inhabitants. 2. A member of the people who spoke the parent language from which the Indo-European languages are derived; loosely in ethnology, an Âryan-speaking individual of the Caucasian race.”
At no time is the earth covered with people belonging exclusively to the dominant race, however, for we have with us today not only the relics of past races, but also the forerunners of races yet to come. This forms a very complicated study, and to attempt to undertake it at this time would run us far afield. We are going to confine ourselves to two marvelous events which occurred simultaneously during the third Root-Race, the effects of which are with us to this day for the reason that these events were really the beginnings of a spiritual work that was to maintain to the very end of the human cycle of races on this earth.
The teachings state that there are two races yet to follow this one. At the conclusion of the seventh Root-Race the Earth will go into a period of quiescence known as an obscuration, and then the mighty process will begin anew. There are seven such major cycles, each one consisting of seven Root-Races. These major cycles are known as the Rounds. We are in the fourth such major cycle, or in other words we are now in the fourth Round, and we constitute the firth or Âryan Root-Race in this Round. In all, there will be seven such Rounds in the life of this Earth. This is the briefest possible statement of the case; a further explanation of the doctrine of the Globe Chains will be found in Chapter XIV, Lokas and Talas. What is given here will serve as the background for the study presently under consideration.
In general our teachings about the growth of Humanity from the “mindless” state to that of at least partially awakened mind as we have it today are limited to the events which occurred on this Globe D alone, during this Fourth Round. The teachings concerning life on other Globes of the Chain and life during previous Rounds and the Rounds to come have been closely guarded. However, it does not seem to be amiss to engage in some constructive thinking on this point, bearing in mind that the following ideas are my own. As I have found them to be productive, I wish to share them with the reader.
As a man was once an infant in this life, but had been an adult in his previous life, thinking and working with his adult faculties, it follows that this principle has been repeated during a succession of lives, and will continue to be repeated far into the future.
Is there any reason to think that when Mind was awakened in the Humanity of the third Root-Race, this was an entirely new experience for the Human Life Wave? It would seem to be a logical conclusion to draw from the teachings that we now have, that during the Root-Races on Globes A, B and C a similar event must have taken place, and will take place, with perhaps fuller effect, on the Globes following this one, to wit, E, F and G.
We might expand the idea further, and think that during the Third Round, similar processes of awakening of the human faculties had taken place, not only on Globe D, but on the other Globes as well, and that in future Rounds, the process will be carried still further, so that the Human Races of the far distant future will have faculties developed that will carry man far on the evolutionary pathway to the Gods.
Thus, the mere fact that the early Root-Races of this Globe D on this fourth Round were in a child-like state might fit in with the concept that during the first years of anybody's life, man is in a child-state, and must undergo anew the process of education, or the awakening of the faculties of the mind.
The First Round is not included in these considerations because we are taught that the Globe Chain was in process of building over a period of many millions of years, and that in some very important ways, the First Round was entirely different from the succeeding Rounds. We may further think that at first the process of awakening was slight, and has gradually increased in intensity up to this present Round, and that those capable of further growth, will experience an unfoldment of faculties to a degree as yet unsuspected.
And now to return to the Third Root-Race on this Fourth Round.
Just as children must be educated, so had the human race to be educated when it had grown to the degree that education was possible. It was during this period that two great events took place. A chapter will be devoted to the event which is known as the “Descent of the Mânasaputras.” The other great event will be taken up in this present chapter. Actually, the two events are so closely related that it might be said that the one could not have taken place without the other.
Let it be understood that just as in a school, wherein the young children are being taught, there must necessarily be the teachers who have had their own schooling many years ago, so it was that during the time of those early races there were some present who had their own schooling ages before, and they stood ready to serve as the teachers of the infant race. There was nothing haphazard about the process. Their relationship to the human race at that time was a karmic bond, which was so far-reaching that their work had to take this form. In the truest sense of the word, they (the forerunners of the race) called upon Divine help. Actually what occurred during those stirring times was similar to prayer — if we understand the true meaning of prayer.
Genuine prayer is meditation: the calling or invoking into oneself of a portion of Divine Consciousness. Petitionary prayer is not meant, of course. Rather it is that type of prayer wherein one opens his inner nature to the reception of the Divine Guest, if we may use a figure of speech, which is very applicable. Meditation can indeed be the means of welcoming into the heart and mind of the devotee the essence of his own Higher Self, his Buddhic Splendor; and it should be done more and more completely until, as said before, the student learns to recognize his own inner Teacher.
And just as this is possible for the human individual, as a simple fact of his own consciousness, so was it also possible on a larger scale for this group of advanced human beings. This is a great and wonderful mystery. In order to explain it, we must go back still further in time. We must understand that between any two of these great cycles or rounds, there is a link which takes the form of a group of entities — a comparatively few individuals — who remain behind waiting throughout the long ages in a condition of relative quiescence. They elect to do so in order to make it easier for the incoming wave of human entities, when they are ready to people this globe once more. Such were the highest representatives of the human race that had been here before in the previous Round; and because they were the forerunners, so to speak, they had already achieved a type of consciousness that was still in the future for humanity at large, who in a very real sense were trailing along behind insofar as their inward development and unfoldment were concerned.
Those who remained behind are known by the technical word Sishtas — from the verb-root sish, to remain. It should be added that every kingdom of nature has its Sishtas, although for the present we shall confine this study to the Human kingdom.
These forerunners of the race entered into a state of meditation of a very high type, known as Kriyâsakti (see end of Chapter IX). By a great feat of white magic they invoked the presence of a God. There was nothing fortuitous about this. They knew full well what they were doing, because by previous training and spiritual growth they had become aware of the spiritual needs of the human race and could work consciously with Nature in order to bring about this wonderful event.
The Being that was invited to come into the arena of human life was (and is, even to this day) a God. He goes by many names. He is sometimes known as the Silent Watcher, or again he is referred to as the Great Sacrifice.
The coming of this Divine Guest brought about the founding of the first of the Mystery Schools, wherein those of the human race were worthy of the high privilege were welcomed and taught the mysteries of consciousness. They were trained to take their places in the ranks of the Elder Brothers and learned to dedicate themselves to a work that knows neither beginning nor end. And, we are taught these mystery schools exist to this present day.
With this preliminary discussion we can perhaps better understand the following extract from The Secret Doctrine. It is one of the greatest passages in all of our Theosophical literature, and is a never-ending source of inspiration to students of the Ancient Wisdom. Within these words we can feel the call to come up higher, to know, and to share in the great work.
“This Third Race is sometimes called collectively ‘the Sons of Passive Yoga,’ i.e., it was produced unconsciously by the second Race, which, as it was intellectually inactive, is supposed to have been constantly plunged in a kind of blank or abstract contemplation, and required by the conditions of the Yoga state. In the first or earlier portion of the existence of this third race, while it was yet in its state of purity, the ‘Sons of Wisdom,’ who, as will be seen, incarnated in this Third Race, produced by Kriyâsakti a progeny called ‘Sons of Ad’ or of the Fire-Mist,’ the ‘Sons of Will and Yoga,’ etc. They were a conscious production, as a portion of the race was already animated with the divine spark of spiritual, superior intelligence. It was not a Race, this progeny. It was at first a wondrous Being, called the ‘Initiator,’ and after him a group of semi-divine and semi-human beings. ‘Set apart’ in Archaic genesis for certain purposes, they are those in whom are said to have incarnated the highest Dhyânis, ‘Munis and Rishis from previous Manvataras’ — to form the nursery for future human adepts, on this earth and during the present cycle. These ‘Sons of Will and Yoga’ born, so to speak, in an immaculate way, remained, it is explained, entirely apart from the rest of mankind.
The ‘BEING’ just referred to, which has to remain nameless, is the Tree from which, in subsequent ages, all the great historically known Sages and Hierophants, such as the Rishi Kapila, Hermes, Enoch, Orpheus, etc., etc., have branched off. As objective man, he is the mysterious (to the profane — the ever invisible) yet ever present Personage about whom legends are rife in the East, especially among the Occultists and the students of the Sacred Science. It is he who changes form, yet remains ever the same. And it is he again who holds spiritual sway over the initiated Adepts throughout the whole world. He is, as said, the ‘Nameless One’ who has so many names, and yet whose names and whose very nature are unknown. He is the ‘Initiator,’ called the ‘GREAT SACRIFICE.’ For sitting at the threshold of LIGHT, he looks into it from within the circle of Darkness, which he will not cross; nor will he quit his post till the last day of this life cycle. Why does the solitary Watcher remain at his self-chosen post? Why does he sit by the fountain of primeval Wisdom, of which he drinks no longer, as he has naught to learn which he does not know — aye, neither on this Earth, nor in its heaven? Because the lonely, sore-footed pilgrims on their way back to their home are never sure to the last moment of not losing their way in this limitless desert of illusion and matter called Earth-Life. Because he would fain show the way to that region of freedom and light, from which he is a voluntary exile himself, to every prisoner who has succeeded in liberating himself from the bonds of flesh and illusion. Because, in short, he has sacrificed himself for the sake of mankind, though but a few Elect may profit by the GREAT SACRIFICE.
It is under the direct, silence guidance of this Mahâ—(great)— GURU that all the other less divine Teachers and instructors of mankind became, from the first awakening of human consciousness, the guides of early Humanity. It is through these ‘Sons of God’ that infant humanity got its first notions of all the arts and sciences, as well as of spiritual knowledge; and it is they who have laid the first foundation-stone of those ancient civilizations that puzzle so sorely our own modern generation of students and scholars.”
The Secret Doctrine, Vol. I, pp. 207-208
And here are the incomparable words of Master K. H.:
“…For countless generations hath the adept builded a fane of imperishable rocks, a giant's Tower of INFINITE THOUGHT, wherein the Titan dwelt, and will yet, if need be, dwell alone, emerging from it but a the end of every cycle, to invite the elect of mankind to co-operate with him and help in his turn enlighten superstitious man. And we will go on in that periodical work of ours; we will not allow ourselves to be baffled in our philanthropic attempts until that day when the foundations of a new continent of thought are so firmly built that no amount of opposition and ignorant malice guided by the Brethren of the Shadow will be found to prevail.”
And he adds some lines from an early poem of Tennyson's called “The Mystic:”
“How could ye know him? Ye were yet within
The narrower circle; he had well nigh reached
The last, which, with a region of white flame,
Pure without heat, into a larger air
Up-burning, and an ether of black blue,
Invests and ingirds all lives…”
The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett, p. 51
It is sometimes thought that the life of a Theosophist is barren because he rejects the personal God. The fact is that his life is full to the brim with reverence and wonder, because the Being that has been so glowingly described is a reality not only to him, but also in an ever-increasing degree to his Teachers, and to the Teachers of his Teachers.
We are taught that in initiation, whereas the neophyte must be left entirely alone during the critical stages wherein he finds his own inner Teacher, once the trial has passed, then the illumination which comes to him does indeed come from the Silent Watcher himself. Thus he is called the Great Initiator. It is he who guides the course of Initiation, although but few of the highest of the Adepts may contact him directly.
One of the mysteries of consciousness is that from this Wondrous Being come as branches from a tree the loftiest of the Adepts, called by H. P. B the “Sons of Will and Yoga.” Although they are actually beings filled with Divine Compassion, demi-gods and Teachers in their own right, at one and the same time they have a mystical identity with this Silent Watcher. Literally, the One becomes the Many. From these lofty beings radiate still others of a somewhat less lofty type; and yet these, again, are Adepts of a very high order; and from these once more radiate others of still lesser degree, and so on throughout the Hierarchy of Compassion in so far as it affects this Earth of ours. Finally, this wondrous tree of life bears its leaves, which are we, humans, linked forever deep within our own hearts and minds to this Silent Watcher. Each one of us has, as stated before, his own link with this Wondrous Being, and thus with the Hierarchy of Compassion, could we but find it.
This may appear to produce a paradoxical concept; because it is equally true that a man must grow from within himself into the state of chelaship or discipleship; and the chela must grow from within himself into the state of adeptship, and so on. Do these two aspects of the teaching conflict? No more than the two sides of a coin. Could a coin be complete without the two sides? Are the sides ever to be separated from the coin itself? Assuredly not; nor can these two aspects of spiritual growth ever be separated. With each step taken, something is added to the life of the student, and it is added in ever-great measure as the progress proceeds. We cannot grasp it with the brain-mind entirely; to attempt to explain it in ordinarily logical terms would only probe one's inability to grasp the genuine understanding of the process of spiritual evolution.
Let us now add a bit of Mathematical Symbolism to this study. It will be based once more on the remarkable properties of the Golden Section.
A five-pointed star may be inscribed within a circle. (For the method see Appendix I.) As we remember from our previous studies, the lines of any five-pointed star are divided at the two points of the Golden Section. (Also, the five triangles of the star are similar to the segments of a regular decagon. As we explained before, the relationship between the base and the side of each of these triangles is .618 : 1.00.)
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Fig. 7 — The Golden Section in a Star.
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| AB | = | .382 |
| BY | = | .618 |
| AY | = | 1.000 |
| XY | = | 1.618 |
Figure 7 shows a five-pointed star within a pentagon. Within this star there is also an inverted star. Note the letters A, B, C and C'. The triangle forming a part of the inverted star and lettered ABC may now be thought of as swinging upward (the point C making an arc toward you as it does so) and coming to rest so that the apex is at C'. In this manner it has become a point of the larger star. If we may consider that all the points of the smaller star have been unfolded to form the large star, the symbol comes to life, for in this respect it represents, like the unfolding of a flower, the unfolding of the inner faculties of a human being, the bringing into manifestation all that is latent, and waiting to be brought forth.
We can carry this much farther and think of the inner inverted star as having been similarly unfolded from a star still smaller at its center, and this one from a star smaller yet; and so on without end. The significance of the symbol now seems to be the mysterious process of nature where, by unfoldment, “the One becomes the Many.” May not, then, the unapproachable point at the center represent the Wondrous Being from which the hierarchy unfolds? This interpretation relates also to Fig. 6 in Chapter III, where the application is to the unfolding of universes, dealing as it does with the continual appearances of the Icosahedron and the Dodecahedron.
It is important to note that it is the relationship between the various geometrical shapes, whether plane or solid, that has the deepest significance. It might sound too arbitrary to be readily acceptable were one to say that, for instance, a five-pointed star represents either Man or the Universe. It is rather the astonishing properties and relationships of these simple figures that bring the lesson home to us.
In Fig. 8 a new concept has been added. Two of the lines of the inverted star have been extended until they touch at certain points three of the sides of the enclosing
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Fig. 8 — Four Stars in a Pentagon.
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Pentagon, i.e., the base has been touched at both points of the Golden Section, and the two sides adjacent to the apex have each been touched at one of the points of the Golden Section. A further remarkable thing has taken place. The uppermost triangle ABC' is now enclosed within a pentagon; and by adding the necessary lines, it has now grown into a smaller star in its own right.
In a somewhat similar manner, the two extended lines touching the base of the pentagon now form the basis for constructing a new star which is, as it were, an outgrowth of the inverted star. This star is seen complete. And this leads us to Fig. 9, wherein all the lines of the inverted star have been extended until they meet in pairs at the two points of the Golden Section on all five sides of the pentagon. This has enclosed all of the points of the star in pentagons; so that we may at once fill in the necessary lines causing each point of the original star to blossom forth as a star in its own right. Then the five smaller stars are also completed, so that we now have a figure consisting of twelve five-pointed stars. The original large star may be thought of as the omnipresent summit or Hyparxis of the hierarchy, the ten encircling stars are like the living emanations from the omnipresent Being; and finally the twelfth star, the inverted one at the center, represents the nadir of hierarchy.
It is worth bringing out one interesting fact of the construction of these stars. The five stars at the angles of the enclosing pentagon are the direct outgrowth of the original upright star, whereas the five smaller stars, which are placed at the sides of the pentagon, are the direct outgrowth of the inverted star. This is highly suggestive of the two lines of evolution, an aspect of this symbolism which might have deep significance to many students.
Now look at Plate V (left). The pentagon has assumed a new shape, showing a series of stars below our original expanded figure. Note that the inverted star has likewise been expanded into a hierarchy of stars with its own upright star at the center. This is once more replete with symbolism.
The main body of this figure appears to rest upon the outstretched arms of the star below it; and if we think of this as suggestive of the legend of Atlas holding the world upon his shoulders, we discover yet more meaning in this symbol. The head of Atlas has been expanded in like manner, here representing initiated Man seeing himself as a copy of the Universe. Note how this expanded head of the man is actually one of the stars in the original diagram. The series of stars below man points to another recondite teaching of the Ancient Wisdom dealing with the various monads in man.
Finally, Plate V (right) shows the large star unfolded more fully, making a truly beautiful diagram. And we must remember that this is but one step in a process that could theoretically be carried on forever. What an interesting paradox it is that within the limited area of a pentagon may be drawn an infinite number of five-pointed stars! Quite suggestive of the fact that although this physical universe, which from one standpoint is quite limited because it is physical, nevertheless provides the playground of an infinite number of beings of all grades of evolution.
When writing about a subject such as this, one is reminded of the story told of Guatama the Buddha. His disciples were seated before him waiting for him to speak, but for a long time he remained silent. Finally, without a word, he pointed to a lotus blossom. One only of his pupils understood…
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Fig. 9 — The Hierarchy is Complete.
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The point of the story is, of course, that the teaching was so deep that even the Buddha found it impossible to express it in words. Only the silence could convey it. There was only one pupil who had the inner ear receptive to the message. In like manner, one could spend hours giving his own views as to the meaning of a symbol and he would convey but little of the real meaning to other students. How can I, for instance, express in words what these things have meant to me? Only by suggesting that any student who is interested take these diagrams and look at them with the teachings about the Silent Watcher in mind, thus finding the atmosphere of esoteric thought for himself.
That aspect of the teaching about the Mystery Schools which holds the greatest message for mankind is that, once established, their work goes on, sometimes openly (or relatively so) as in the cases of the Schools of Eleusis, Mithras, Samothrace, the School of Pythagoras, and others. There are other times when outwardly there seem to be no such Schools flourishing;' but we have been assured by H.P.B. and her teachers that these Schools are in existence today. This is proven by the work of the Messengers who appear from time to time. Where else could they have had their training?
The heart of the Theosophical Movement is such a Mystery School, but how many of us have come close to that heart? How can we find it? The answer goes back to what was postulated earlier in this chapter. Each and every one of us has within himself his own link with the Hierarchy of Compassion. Once that link is found, all such questions are resolved. The time can come for any student when he becomes aware that knowledge is to be had from within. When that inner source of knowledge becomes so real to him that he knows that the teachings he is receiving are genuine, then he is approaching knowledge of the Mystery Schools, because, in fact, he already belongs.
1 During the course of the evolutionary history of our Earth, as well as on the other six manifested Globes of the Planetary Chain, mankind as a Life-Wave of evolving entities passes through seven evolutionary stages which are called Root-Races, a term which has become widely accepted in Theosophical literature. It should be distinctly understood, however, that the word “Race” in this compound term has no bearing whatsoever upon any ethnic group or nationality. As the cycle of any one Root-Race emcompasses periods covering several million years, it is obvious that a Root-Race is composed of innumerable sub-divisions, branches or sub-races, and contains within itself the historical development of countless types of humanity, all of whom, nevertheless, exhibit certain fundamental characteristics typical of any particular Root-Race. Any ethnic, cultural, or political meaning is utterly foreign to this Theosophical term which concerns itself exclusively with the global succession of cycles which bring about the gradual development of various spiritual, intellectual and psychical traits in the complex nature of mankind as a Kingdom of Life on this Globe.