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saidevo
26 August 2006, 10:02 AM
Before we think about the seven planes of Nature, their constituents and inhabitants, we need to think about the various forms and aspects of the One God.

Why? Because these forms and aspects build, maintain and dissolve the universes, their solar systems, and life forms. This One-in-all and all-in-One aspect of God is very well known to all Hindus, illiterate and literate.

Our discussions in this article are based on the book titled Theosophy Explained in Questions and Answers by P. Pavri.

Theosophy performs a comparative study of the truths of major religions, unites them, and presents a holistic worldview which is intuitive, logical and scientific. The investigations of Theosophy are claimed to be backed by observation using advanced psychic powers and are said to be verifiable by people having such powers.

The One, the Three and the Seven. Unity, Trinity and Septenary.

Most religions aver that God is One. The One Existence who is the centre of all life. An Omnipresent, Omnipotent, Omniscient, Eternal, Boundless and Immutable Principle on which all speculation is impossible. The One only without a Second. The Unmanifested Logos. The formless, impersonal God.

He is the paramatman or parabrahmam of Hinduism. The Nirguna Brahman -- the Brahman without attributes, remaining unmanifested.

He is the Boundless Space --Zarwane Akrane-- of Zoroastrianism. The Thrice-unknown Darkness of the Greek Orphic System.

From That all comes forth; to That all returns. That includes within itself all that ever has been, is and can be. He is called That because He is formless and unconditional. When He is formless, He remains as the All, the Mulaprakriti, the root-matter or Koilon out of which every form is shaped.

Even though He is formless, He is not still. He is Pure Consciousness, Pure Motion, Pure Energy.

Universes arise out of Him, like the waves from an ocean. Universes sink into Him, like the waves sink back. The wave is the form or manifestation of the water underneath.

Did this One, the formless God build our Solar System?

Yes and no. Yes because, as the Upanishads say, 'He willed: I will multiply.' No because, He did not do it directly.

When He willed to multiply, out of Him came the manifested Brahman--the Saguna Brahman, the Personal God.

We should understand that the manifested and unmanifested are merely two states of Brahman. The Saguna Brahman is not a Second, but the One in manifestation. Like a wave from the ocean.

Theosophy calls the Saguna Brahman the Cosmic Logos, the Supreme Ruler of the universe. He is further described as the self-existing One, the Root and Cause of all beings, also sometimes called Purusha, the Supreme Spirit, the Self.

The One builds the universe, with a portion of Himself, manifesting as the Supreme Spirit.

For his task, he unfolds Himself into a threefold form, the three great Logoi of cosmic evolution, the Trimurti or Trinity aspect of the Manifested God.

The seven Embodiments of His nature are then formed into the Seven Cosmic Planetary Logoi, who are associated with the work of the three Cosmic Logoi of the Universe.

Thus, the One manifests as the Trimurti or the Trinity. The Three are His aspects and are not separate from Him. He is the sum-total and the All of the Three. They are in Him and He is in Them all.

The aspect of Isvara (another name for the One) in which he creates the world is named Brahma by the Hindus, and the Holy Ghost by the Christians.

That aspect in which Isvara preserves and maintains the worlds is named Vishnu by the Hindus, the Son by the Christians.

The aspect in which he dissolves the worlds when they are of no further use is named Siva or Mahadeva by the Hindus, the Father by the Christians.

There are innumerable universes, and countless solar systems in each universe. Each solar system is energized and controlled by a mighty Being called the Solar Logos or the Solar Deity. For our solar system, the Solar Deity is called Savitri by the Hindus.

Next below the Solar Deity are the seven Solar Planetary Logoi or the Planetary Spirits. Just as the seven Cosmic Planetary Logoi mentioned above are the seven Embodiments of the nature of the One, the seven Solar Planetary Logoi are the seven expressions of the nature of the Solar Deity.

These seven aspects are known as the seven Prajapatis (Lords of Creatures) in Hinduism; the seven Amesha Spentas (Immortal Holy Ones) in Zoroastrianism; the Seven Spirits before the throne of God in Hebrew and Christian tradition.

The energies of these Seven control and direct all that takes place within the solar system. They are the rulers of the planets Vulcan, Venus, Earth, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. (The Seven Schemes of Evolution is to be studied separately).

Each of the Seven is the Head and Ruler of hierarchies of creative entities who work under his direction in the building and sustaining of the solar system.

The hierarchies include Devas (or Shining Ones or Angelic hosts) called Adityas, Vasus, Dhyan Chohans, etc. in Oriental religions, or Angels, Archangels, Thrones, etc. in the Christian tradition -- manifestations of the One, the innumerable ministers of the Supreme Will.

Thus God manifests Himself under a triple form, a Trinity (the Regenerator, Preserver and Creator), spoken of by the Theosophist as the First, Second and Third Logos; the Father, Son and Holy Ghost of the Christian; Siva, Vishnu and Brahma of the Hindu; the Kepher, Binah and Chochmah of the Hebrew Kabbalist; Ahura, Mazda and Ahuramazda --the Life, Wisdom and the One Existence-- of the Zoroastrian.

Thus God being immanent in all, all are sharers in one Life, and form one great Brotherhood.

We can now turn our thoughts to the actual building of our solar system and the seven planes of Nature, in the next instalment.

Tat twam asi - That Thou art. -- Chandogya Upanishad

Note: I know I have only skimmed the subject of the Hierarchy under Brahman here. I request Sri Sarabhanga and other knowledgeable members to give me the exact order of the Hierarchy, starting with Brahman, that is responsible for the maintenance of the universe and our solar system.

nirotu
26 August 2006, 10:48 AM
Dear Saidevo:

Excellent discussion of comparative religions! Very enlightening indeed!!
Sri Sarabhanga would do an excellent job in providing further insight.



Universes arise out of Him, like the waves from an ocean. Universes sink into Him, like the waves sink back. The wave is the form or manifestation of the water underneath.
Have you given any thought as to why there is undulations in sea causing these Universe in to existence, so to speak?

Blessings,
nirotu

saidevo
26 August 2006, 11:04 AM
Dear Saidevo:
Excellent discussion of comparative religions! Very enlightening indeed!!
Sri Sarabhanga would do an excellent job in providing further insight.

Have you given any thought as to why there is undulations in sea causing these Universe in to existence, so to speak?
Blessings,
nirotu


Namaste Nirotu,

While I thank your appreciation of my compilation, I hasten to add that the credits should go to the original authors of Theosophy I have been providing as sources.

The undulations in the ocean, to speak physically, happen due to Earth's rotation, gravity and wind currents. While these are at the surface level, the ocean is still and calm in its depths. In the same way, the undulations in Brahman, who is still underneath, are due to the stirrings of His Consciousness. Any further thoughts you have?

sarabhanga
29 August 2006, 08:28 AM
Namaste Saidevo,

The whole history of Creation may be found in the fundamental principles of mathematics and geometry and language.

Blessed be the Grammarians! :)

It is interesting that, in consideration of the prime numerical sequence of creation and dissolution (i.e. 1, 3, 5, 7, etc.), Theosophy seems to have ignored the most fundamental spiritual number of Man ~ the Pańca (i.e. Five). :dunno:



I request the exact order of the Hierarchy, starting with Brahman, that is responsible for the maintenance of the Universe.

This is an enormous request, which would require a whole book to sufficiently explain. :rolleyes:

However, the Asylum (Hermitage or Ashram) of Sarabhanga (http://www.geocities.com/sarabhanga/index.html) does include several relevant pages:

Counting Creation (http://in.geocities.com/sarabhanga/yuga.html)

One ~ Om (http://www.geocities.com/sarabhanga/one.html)

Second One (http://www.geocities.com/sarabhanga/two.html)

Three ~ Tripura (http://www.geocities.com/sarabhanga/three.html)

Four ~ Turiya (http://www.geocities.com/sarabhanga/kapila.html)

Five ~ Panca (http://www.geocities.com/sarabhanga/five.html)

Seven ~ Rishi (http://www.geocities.com/sarabhanga/rishi.html)

Santa (http://www.geocities.com/sarabhanga/singularity.html)

Samudramanthana (http://in.geocities.com/sarabhanga/creation.html)