,a ,,textbook ,,of ,,theosophy          
by    ,c4,w4 ,,leadbeater          #aiab
          ,,contents      ,chapter      
,i4 ,what ,theosophy ,is      ,,ii4     
,from the ,absolute to ,man     ,,iii4  
,the ,formation of a ,solar ,system     
,,iv4 ,the ,evolution of ,life       ,v4
 ,the ,constitution of ,man      ,,vi4  
,after ,death     ,,vii4 ,reincarnation 
,,viii4 ,the ,purpose of ,life          
,,ix4 ,the ,planetary ,chains       ,x4 
,the ,result of ,theosophical ,study    
,index          ,chapter ,i    ,,what   
,,theosophy ,,is      ,there is a school
 of philosophy still in existence of    
which modern culture  has lost sight4   
,in these words ,mr4 ,a4,p4 ,sinnett    
began his book1 ,the  ,occult ,world1   
the first popular exposition of         
,theosophy1 published thirty  years ago4
 ,namely in #ahha4 ,during the years    
that have passed since then1  many      
thousands have learned wisdom in that   
school1 yet to the majority its         
teachings are still unknown1 and they   

can give only the vaguest of replies  to
 the query1 ,what is ,theosophy8    ,two
 books already exist which answer that  
question3 ,mr4 ,sinnett's ,esoteric     
,buddhism and ,dr4 ,besant's ,the       
,ancient ,wisdom4 ,i have no thought of 
entering into competition with those    
standard works2 what ,i desire is to    
present a statement1 as clear and simple
 as ,i can make it1 which may be        
regarded as introductory to them4    ,we
 often speak of ,theosophy as not in    
itself a religion1 but the truth  which 
lies behind all religions alike4 ,that  
is so2 yet1 from another point  of view1
 we may surely say that it is at once a 
philosophy1 a religion and  a science4  
,it is a philosophy1 because it puts    
plainly before us an  explanation of the
 scheme of evolution of both the souls  
and the bodies  contained in our solar  
system4 ,it is a religion in so far as1 
having shown  us the course of ordinary 
evolution1 it also puts before us and   
advises a  method of shortening that    

course1 so that by conscious effort we  
may  progress more directly towards the 
goal4 ,it is a science1 because it      
treats  both these subjects as matters  
not of theological belief but of direct 
knowledge obtainable by study and       
investigation4 ,it asserts that man has 
no  need to trust to blind faith1       
because he has within him latent powers 
which1 when aroused1 enable him to see  
and examine for himself1 and it         
proceeds to prove its case by showing   
how those powers may be awakened4 ,it   
is itself a result of the awakening of  
such powers by men1 for the  teachings  
which it puts before us are founded upon
 direct observations made  in the past1 
and rendered possible only by such      
development4    ,as a philosophy1 it    
explains to us that the solar system is 
a  carefully-ordered mechanism1 a       
manifestation of a magnificent life1 of 
which man is but a small part4          
,nevertheless1 it takes up that small   
part  which immediately concerns us1 and

 treats it exhaustively under three     
heads--present1 past and future4    ,it 
deals with the present by describing    
what man really is1 as seen by  means of
 developed faculties4 ,it is customary  
to speak of man as having a  soul4      
,theosophy1 as the result of direct     
investigation1 reverses that  dictum1   
and states that man is a soul1 and has a
 body--in fact several  bodies1 which   
are his vehicles and instruments in     
various worlds4 ,these  worlds are not  
separate in space2 they are             
simultaneously present with us1  here   
and now1 and can be examined2 they are  
the divisions of the material  side of  
,nature--different degrees of density in
 the aggregation of matter1  as will    
presently be explained in detail4 ,man  
has an existence in several  of these1  
but is normally conscious only of the   
lowest1 though sometimes in  dreams and 
trances he has glimpses of some of the  
others4 ,what is called  death is the   
laying aside of the vehicle belonging to

 this lowest world1  but the soul or    
real man in a higher world is no more   
changed or affected  by this than the   
physical man is changed or affected when
 he removes his  overcoat4 ,all this is 
a matter1 not of speculation1 but of    
observation and  experiment4            
,theosophy has much to tell us of the   
past history of man--of how in the      
course of evolution he has come to be   
what he now is4 ,this also is a matter  
of observation1 because of the fact that
 there exists an indelible record  of   
all that has taken place--a sort of     
memory of ,nature--by examining which   
the scenes of earlier evolution may be  
made to pass before the eyes of the     
investigator as though they were        
happening at this moment4 ,by thus      
studying  the past we learn that man is 
divine in origin and that he has a long 
evolution behind him--a double          
evolution1 that of the life or soul     
within1  and that of the outer form4 ,we
 learn1 too1 that the life of man as a  

soul  is of1 what to us seems1 enormous 
length1 and that what we have been in   
the  habit of calling his life is in    
reality only one day of his real        
existence4  ,he has already lived       
through many such days1 and has many    
more of them yet  before him2 and if we 
wish to understand the real life and its
 object1 we  must consider it in        
relation not only to this one day of it1
 which begins  with birth and ends with 
death1 but also to the days which have  
gone before  and those which are yet to 
come4    ,of those that are yet to come 
there is also much to be said1 and on   
this  subject1 too1 a great deal of     
definite information is available4 ,such
  information is obtainable1 first1 from
 men who have already passed much       
further along the road of evolution than
 we1 and have consequently direct       
experience of it2 and1 secondly1 from   
inferences drawn from the obvious       
direction of the steps which we see to  
have been previously taken4 ,the goal   

of this particular cycle is in sight1   
though still far above us but it  would 
seem that1 even when that has been      
attained1 an infinity of progress  still
 lies before everyone who is willing to 
undertake it4    ,one of the most       
striking advantages of ,theosophy is    
that the light which it  brings to us at
 once solves many of our problems1      
clears away many  difficulties1 accounts
 for the apparent injustices of life1   
and in all  directions brings order out 
of seeming chaos4 ,thus1 while some of  
its  teaching is based upon the         
observation of forces whose direct      
working is  somewhat beyond the ken of  
the ordinary man of the world1 if the   
latter  will accept it as a hypothesis  
he will very soon come to see that it   
must  be a correct one1 because it1 and 
it alone1 furnishes a coherent and      
reasonable explanation of the drama of  
life which is being played before  him4 
,the existence of ,perfected ,men1 and  
the possibility of coming into touch    

with ,them and being taught by ,them1   
are prominent among the great new       
truths which ,theosophy brings to the   
western world4 ,another of them is the  
stupendous fact that the world is not   
drifting blindly into anarchy1 but  that
 its progress is under the control of a 
perfectly organized ,hierarchy1  so that
 final failure even for the tiniest of  
its units is of all  impossibilities the
 most impossible4 ,a glimpse of the     
working of that  ,hierarchy inevitably  
engenders the desire to co-operate with 
it1 to serve  under it1 in however      
humble a capacity1 and some time in the 
far-distant  future to be worthy to join
 the outer fringes of its ranks4        
,this brings us to that aspect of       
,theosophy which we have called         
religious4  ,those who come to know and 
to understand these things are          
dissatisfied with  the slow ons of      
evolution2 they yearn to become more    
immediately useful1  and so they demand 
and obtain knowledge of the shorter but 

steeper ,path4  ,there is no possibility
 of escaping the amount of work that has
 to be done4  ,it is like carrying a    
load up a mountain2 whether one carries 
it straight  up a steep path or more    
gradually by a road of gentle slope1    
precisely the  same number of           
foot-pounds must be exerted4 ,therefore 
to do the same work  in a small fraction
 of the time means determined effort4   
,it can be done1  however1 for it has   
been done2 and those who have done it   
agree that it far  more than repays the 
trouble4 ,the limitations of the various
 vehicles are  thereby gradually        
transcended1 and the liberated man      
becomes an intelligent  co-worker in the
 mighty plan for the evolution of all   
beings4    ,in its capacity as a        
religion1 too1 ,theosophy gives its     
followers a rule of  life1 based not on 
alleged commands delivered at some      
remote period of the  past1 but on plain
 common sense as indicated by observed  
facts4 ,the  attitude of the student of 

,theosophy towards the rules which it   
prescribes  resembles rather that which 
we adopt to hygienic regulations than   
obedience  to religious commandments4   
,we may say1 if we wish1 that this thing
 or that  is in accordance with the     
divine ,will1 for the divine ,will is   
expressed in  what we know as the laws  
of ,nature4 ,because that ,will wisely  
ordereth all  things1 to infringe its   
laws means to disturb the smooth working
 of the  scheme1 to hold back for a     
moment that fragment or tiny part of    
evolution1  and consequently to bring   
discomfort upon ourselves and others4   
,it is for  that reason that the wise   
man avoids infringing them--not to      
escape the  imaginary wrath of some     
offended deity4    ,but if from a       
certain point of view we may think of   
,theosophy as a  religion1 we must note 
two great points of difference between  
it and what  is ordinarily called       
religion in the ,west4 ,first1 it       
neither demands belief  from its        

followers1 nor does it even speak of    
belief in the sense in which  that word 
is usually employed4 ,the student of    
occult science either knows  a thing or 
suspends his judgment about it2 there is
 no place in his scheme  for blind      
faith4 ,naturally1 beginners in the     
study cannot yet know for  themselves1  
so they are asked to read the results of
 the various  observations and to deal  
with them as probable                   
hypotheses--provisionally to  accept and
 act upon them1 until such time as they 
can prove them for  themselves4         
,secondly1 ,theosophy never endeavours  
to convert any man from whatever        
religion he already holds4 ,on the      
contrary1 it explains his religion to   
him1 and enables him to see in it deeper
 meanings than he has ever known        
before4 ,it teaches him to understand it
 and live it better than he did1 and  in
 many cases it gives back to him1 on a  
higher and more intelligent level1  the 
faith in it which he had previously all 

but lost4    ,theosophy has its aspects 
as a science also2 it is in very truth a
 science  of life1 a science of the     
soul4 ,it applies to everything the     
scientific  method of oft-repeated1     
painstaking observation1 and then       
tabulates the  results and makes        
deductions from them4 ,in this way it   
has investigated the  various planes of 
,nature1 the conditions of man's        
consciousness during life  and after    
what is commonly called death4 ,it      
cannot be too often repeated  that its  
statements on all these matters are not 
vague guesses or tenets of  faith1 but  
are based upon direct and oft-repeated  
observation of what  happens4 ,its      
investigators have dealt also to a      
certain extent with  subjects more in   
the range of ordinary science1 as may be
 seen by those who  read the book on    
,occult ,chemistry4    ,thus we see that
 ,theosophy combines within itself some 
of the  characteristics of philosophy1  
religion and science4 ,what1 it might be

  asked1 is its gospel for this weary   
world8 ,what are the main points which  
emerge from its investigations8 ,what   
are the great facts which it has to  lay
 before humanity8    ,they have been    
well summed up under three main heads4  
,there are three truths which are       
absolute1 and which cannot be lost1 but 
yet may remain silent for lack of       
speech4    ,the soul of man is immortal 
and its future is the future of a thing 
whose  growth and splendour has no      
limit4    ,the principle which gives    
life dwells in us and without us1 is    
undying and  eternally beneficent1 is   
not heard or seen or smelt1 but is      
perceived by  the man who desires       
perception4    ,each man is his own     
absolute lawgiver1 the dispenser of     
glory or gloom to  himself1 the decreer 
of his life1 his reward1 his punishment4
    ,these truths1 which are as great as
 is life itself1 are as simple as the   
simplest mind of man4    ,put shortly1  
and in the language of the man of the   

street1 this means that  ,god is good1  
that man is immortal1 and that as we sow
 so we must reap4  ,there is a definite 
scheme of things2 it is under           
intelligent direction and  works under  
immutable laws4 ,man has his place in   
this scheme and is living  under these  
laws4 ,if he understands them and       
co-operates with them1 he will  advance 
rapidly and will be happy2 if he does   
not understand them--if1  wittingly or  
unwittingly1 he breaks them1 he will    
delay his progress and be  miserable4   
,these are not theories1 but proved     
facts4 ,let him who doubts  read on1 and
 he will see4          ,chapter ,,ii    
,,from ,,the ,,absolute ,,to ,,man      
,of the ,absolute1 the ,infinite1 the   
,all-embracing1 we can at our present   
stage know nothing1 except that ,it is2 
we can say nothing that is not a        
limitation1 and therefore inaccurate4   
,in ,it are innumerable universes2 in   
each universe countless solar systems4  
,each solar system is the expression of 

a mighty ,being1 whom we call the       
,,logos1 the ,word of ,god1 the ,solar  
,deity4 ,he is to it all that men mean  
by  ,god4 ,he permeates it2 there is    
nothing in it which is not ,he2 it is   
the  manifestation of ,him in such      
matter as we can see4 ,yet ,he exists   
above it  and outside it1 living a      
stupendous life of ,his own among ,his  
,peers4 ,as is  said in an ,eastern     
,scripture3 ,having permeated this whole
 universe with  one fragment of ,myself 
,i remain4    ,of that higher life of   
,his we can know nothing4 ,but of the   
fragment of ,his  life which energises  
,his system we may know something in the
 lower levels  of its manifestation4 ,we
 may not see ,him1 but we may see ,his  
power at work4  ,no one who is          
clairvoyant can be atheistic2 the       
evidence is too tremendous4    ,out of  
,himself ,he has called this mighty     
system into being4 ,we who are in  it   
are evolving fragments of ,his life1    
,sparks of ,his divine ,fire2 from ,him 

we all have come2 into ,him we shall all
 return4    ,many have asked why ,he has
 done this2 why ,he has emanated from   
,himself all  this system2 why ,he has  
sent us forth to face the storms of     
life4 ,we cannot  know1 nor is the      
question practical2 suffice it that we  
are here1 and we  must do our best4 ,yet
 many philosophers have speculated on   
this point and  many suggestions have   
been made4 ,the most beautiful that ,i  
know is that of  a ,gnostic philosopher3
    ,god is ,love1 but ,love itself     
cannot be perfect unless it has those   
upon  whom it can be lavished and by    
whom it can be returned4 ,therefore ,he 
put  forth of ,himself into matter1 and 
,he limited ,his glory1 in order that   
through this natural and slow process of
 evolution we might come into  being2   
and we in turn according to ,his ,will  
are to develop until we reach  even ,his
 own level1 and then the very love of   
,god itself will become more  perfect1  
because it will then be lavished on     

those1 ,his own children1 who  will     
fully understand and return it1 and so  
,his great scheme will be  realized and 
,his ,will1 be done4    ,at what        
stupendous elevation ,his consciousness 
abides we know not1 nor can  we know its
 true nature as it shows itself there4  
,but when ,he puts ,himself  down into  
such conditions as are within our reach1
 ,his manifestation is  ever threefold1 
and so all religions have imaged ,him as
 a ,trinity4 ,three1  yet fundamentally 
,one2 ,three ,persons 7for person means 
a mask7 yet one ,god1  showing ,himself 
in those ,three ,aspects4 ,three to us1 
looking at ,them from  below1 because   
,their functions are different2 one to  
,him1 because ,he knows  ,them to be but
 facets of ,himself4    ,all ,three of  
these ,aspects are concerned in the     
evolution of the solar  system2 all     
,three are also concerned in the        
evolution of man4 ,this  evolution is   
,his ,will2 the method of it is ,his    
plan4    ,next below this ,solar ,deity1

 yet also in some mysterious manner part
 of  ,him1 come ,his seven ,ministers   
sometimes called the ,planetary         
,spirits4 ,using  an analogy drawn from 
the physiology of our own body1 ,their  
relation to ,him  is like that of the   
ganglia or the nerve centres to the     
brain4 ,all  evolution which comes forth
 from ,him comes through one or other of
 ,them4    ,under ,them in turn come    
vast hosts or orders of spiritual       
beings1 whom we  call angels or devas4  
,we do not yet know all the functions   
which they  fulfil in different parts of
 this wonderful scheme1 but we find some
 of  them intimately connected with the 
building of the system and the unfolding
  of life within it4    ,here in our    
world there is a great ,official who    
represents the ,solar ,deity  and is in 
absolute control of all the evolution   
that takes place upon this  planet4 ,we 
may image ,him as the true ,,king of    
this world and under ,him are  ministers
 in charge of different departments4    

,one of these departments is  concerned 
with the evolution of the different     
races of humanity so that for  each     
great race there is a ,head who founds  
it1 differentiates it from all  others1 
and watches over its development4       
,another department is that of  religion
 and education1 and it is from this that
 all the greatest teachers  of history  
have come--that all religions have been 
sent forth4 ,the great  ,official at the
 head of this department either comes   
,himself or sends one  of ,his pupils to
 found a new religion when ,he decides  
that one is needed4    ,therefore all   
religions1 at the time of their first   
presentation to the  world1 have        
contained a definite statement of the   
,truth1 and in its  fundamentals this   
,truth has been always the same4 ,the   
presentations of it  have varied because
 of differences in the races to whom it 
was offered4 ,the  conditions of        
civilization and the degree of evolution
 obtained by various  races have made it

 desirable to present this one ,truth in
 divers forms4 ,but  the inner ,truth is
 always the same1 and the source from   
which it comes is  the same1 even though
 the external phases may appear to be   
different and  even contradictory4 ,it  
is foolish for men to wrangle over the  
question of  the superiority of one     
teacher or one form of teaching to      
another1 for the  teacher is always one 
sent by the ,great ,brotherhood of      
,adepts1 and in all  its important      
points1 in its ethical and moral        
principles1 the teaching has  always    
been the same4    ,there is in the world
 a body or ,truth which lies at the back
 of all these  religions1 and represents
 the facts of nature as far as they are 
at present  known to man4 ,in the outer 
world1 because of their ignorance of    
this1  people are always disputing and  
arguing about whether there is a ,god2  
whether man survives death2 whether     
definite progress is possible for him1  
and what is his relation to the         

universe4 ,these questions are ever     
present  in the mind of man as soon as  
intelligence is awakened4 ,they are not 
unanswerable1 as is frequently supposed2
 the answers to them are within the     
reach of anyone who will make proper    
efforts to find them4 ,the truth is     
obtainable1 and the conditions of its   
attainment are possible of  achievement 
by anyone who will make the effort4     
,in the earlier stages of the           
development of humanity the great       
,officials of  the ,hierarchy are       
provided from outside1 from other and   
more highly evolved  parts of the       
system1 but as soon as men can be       
trained to the necessary  level of power
 and wisdom these offices are held by   
them4 ,in order to be  fit to hold such 
an office a man must raise himself to a 
very high level1  and must become what  
is called an ,adept--a being of         
goodness1 power and  wisdom so great    
that ,he towers above the rest of       
humanity1 for ,he has  already attained 

the summit of ordinary human evolution2 
,he has achieved  that which the plan of
 the ,deity marked out for ,him to      
achieve during this  age or             
dispensation4 ,but ,his evolution later 
on continues beyond that                
level--continues to divinity4    ,a     
large number of men have attained the   
,adept level--men not of one nation1    
but of all the leading nations of the   
world--rare souls who with  indomitable 
courage have stormed the fortresses of  
nature1 and captured her  innermost     
secrets1 and so have truly earned the   
right to be called ,adepts4  ,among     
,them there are many degrees and many   
lines of activity2 but always  some of  
,them remain within touch of our earth  
as members of this ,hierarchy  which has
 in charge the administration of the    
affairs of our world and of  the        
spiritual evolution of our humanity4    
,this august body is often called the   
,great ,white ,brotherhood1 but its     
members are not a community all living  

together4 ,each of ,them1 to a large    
extent1 draws ,himself apart from the   
world1 and ,they are in constant        
communication with one another and with 
,their ,head2 but ,their knowledge of   
higher forces is so great that this is  
achieved without any necessity for      
meeting in the physical world4 ,in many 
cases ,they continue to live each in    
,his own country1 and ,their power      
remains unsuspected among those who live
  near ,them4 ,any man who will may     
attract ,their attention1 but he can do 
it  only by showing himself worthy of   
,their notice4 ,none need fear that his 
efforts will pass unnoticed2 such       
oversight is impossible1 for the man who
  is devoting himself to service such as
 this1 stands out from the rest of      
humanity like a great flame in a dark   
night4 ,a few of these great ,adepts1   
who are thus working for the good of the
 world1 are willing to take as          
apprentices those who have resolved to  
devote themselves utterly to the        

service of mankind2 such ,adepts are    
called ,masters4    ,one of these       
apprentices was ,helena ,petrovna       
,blavatsky--a great soul who  was sent  
out to offer knowledge to the world4    
,with ,colonel ,henry ,steel  ,olcott   
she founded ,the ,theosophical ,society 
for the spread of this  knowledge which 
she had to give4 ,among those who came  
into contact with her  in those early   
days was ,mr4 ,a4,p4 ,sinnett1 the      
editor of ,the ,pioneer1 and  his keen  
intellect at once grasped the magnitude 
and the importance of the  teaching     
which she put before him4 ,although     
,madame ,blavatsky herself had          
previously written ,isis ,unveiled1 it  
had attracted but little attention1  and
 it was ,mr4 ,sinnett who first made the
 teaching really available for  western 
readers in his two books1 ,the ,occult  
,world and ,esoteric  ,buddhism4    ,it 
was through these works that ,i myself  
first came to know their author1  and   
afterwards ,madame ,blavatsky herself2  

from both of them ,i learned much4      
,when ,i asked ,madame ,blavatsky how   
one could learn still more1 how one     
could  make definite progress along the 
,path which she pointed out to us1 she  
told  me of the possibility that other  
students might be accepted as           
apprentices  by the great ,masters1 even
 as she herself had been accepted1 and  
that the  only way to gain such         
acceptance was to show oneself worthy of
 it by  earnest and altruistic work4    
,she told me that to reach that goal a  
man must  be absolutely one-pointed in  
his determination2 that no one who tried
 to  serve both ,god and ,mammon could  
ever hope to succeed4 ,one of these     
,masters  ,himself had said3 ,in order  
to succeed1 a pupil must leave his own  
world  and come into ours4    ,this     
means that he must cease to be one of   
the majority who live for wealth  and   
power1 and must join the tiny minority  
who care nothing for such  things1 but  
live only in order to devote themselves 

selflessly to the good  of the world4   
,she warned us clearly that the way was 
difficult to tread1  that we should be  
misunderstood and reviled by those who  
still lived in the  world1 and that we  
had nothing to look forward to but the  
hardest of hard  work2 and though the   
result was sure1 no one could foretell  
how long it  would take to arrive at it4
 ,some of us accepted these conditions  
joyfully1  and we have never for a      
moment regretted the decision4    ,after
 some years of work ,i had the privilege
 of coming into contact with  these     
great ,masters of the ,wisdom2 from     
,them ,i learnt many things--among      
others1 how to verify for myself at     
first hand most of the teachings which  
,they had given4 ,so that1 in this      
matter1 ,i write of what ,i know1 and   
what ,i  have seen for myself4 ,certain 
points are mentioned in the teaching1   
for the  verification of which powers   
are required far beyond anything which  
,i have  gained so far4 ,of them1 ,i can

 say only that they are consistent with 
what ,i  do know1 and in many cases are 
necessary as hypotheses to account for  
what  ,i have seen4 ,they came to me1   
along with the rest of the ,theosophical
  system1 upon the authority of these   
mighty ,teachers4 ,since then ,i have   
learnt to examine for myself by far the 
greater part of what ,i was told1  and  
,i have found the information given to  
me to be correct in every  particular2  
therefore ,i am justified in assuming   
the probability that that  other part1  
which as yet ,i cannot verify1 will also
 prove to be correct  when ,i arrive at 
its level4    ,to attain the honour of  
being accepted as an apprentice of one  
of the  ,masters of the ,wisdom is the  
object set before himself by every      
earnest  ,theosophical student4 ,but it 
means a determined effort4 ,there have  
always  been men who were willing to    
make the necessary effort1 and therefore
 there  have always been men who knew4  
,the knowledge is so transcendent that  

when a  man grasps it fully he becomes  
more than man and he passes beyond our  
ken4    ,but there are stages in the    
acquirement of this knowledge1 and we   
may learn  much if we will1 from those  
who themselves are still in process of  
learning2 for all human beings stand on 
one or other of the rungs of the  ladder
 of evolution4 ,the primitive stand at  
its foot2 we who are civilized  beings  
have already climbed part of the way4   
,but though we can look back  and see   
rungs of the ladder below us which we   
have already passed1 we may  also look  
up and see many rungs above us to which 
we have not yet attained4  ,just as men 
are standing even now on each of the    
rungs below us1 so that we  can see the 
stages by which man has mounted1 so also
 are there men standing  on each of the 
rungs above us1 so that from studying   
them we may see how  man shall mount in 
the future4 ,precisely because we see   
men on every step  of this ladder1 which
 leads up to a glory which as yet we    

have no words to  express1 we know that 
the ascent to that glory is possible for
 us4 ,those  who stand high above us1 so
 high that ,they seem to us as gods in  
,their  marvellous knowledge and power1 
tell us that ,they stood not long since 
where we are standing now1 and ,they    
indicate to us clearly the steps which  
lie between1 which we also must tread if
 we would be as ,they4          ,chapter
 ,,iii    ,,the ,,formation ,,of ,a     
,,solar ,,system      ,the beginning of 
the universe 7if ever it had a          
beginning7 is beyond our  ken4 ,at the  
earliest point of history that we can   
reach1 the two great  opposites of      
spirit and matter1 of life and form1 are
 already in full  activity4 ,we find    
that the ordinary conception of matter  
needs a revision1  for what are commonly
 called force and matter are in reality 
only two  varieties of ,spirit at       
different stages in evolution and the   
real matter or  basis of everything lies
 in the background unperceived4 ,a      

,french scientist  has recently said3   
,there is no matter2 there are nothing  
but holes in the  ther4 ,this also      
agrees with the celebrated theory of    
,professor ,osborne  ,reynolds4 ,occult 
investigation shows this to be the      
correct view1 and in  that way explains 
what ,oriental sacred books mean when   
they say that matter  is an illusion4   
,the ultimate root-matter as seen at our
 level is what scientists call the  ther
 of space4 ,this has been described in  
,occult ,chemistry under the  name of   
koilon4 ,to every physical sense the    
space occupied by it appears  empty1 yet
 in reality this ther is far denser than
 anything of which we  can conceive4    
,its density is defined by ,professor   
,reynolds as being ten  thousand times  
greater than that of water1 and its mean
 pressure as seven  hundred and fifty   
thousand tons to the square inch4       
,this substance is perceptible only to  
highly developed clairvoyant power4  ,we
 must assume a time 7though we have no  

direct knowledge on this point7  when   
this substance filled all space4 ,we    
must also suppose that some great       
,being 7not the ,deity of a solar       
system1 but some ,being almost          
infinitely  higher than that7 changed   
this condition of rest by pouring out   
,his spirit  or force into a certain    
section of this matter1 a section of the
 size of a  whole universe4 ,this effect
 of the introduction of this force is as
 that of  the blowing of a mighty       
breath2 it has formed within this ther  
an  incalculable number of tiny         
spherical bubbles1 ,the bubbles are     
spoken of  in ,the ,secret ,doctrine as 
the holes which ,fohat digs in space4   
and these  bubbles are the ultimate     
atoms of which what we call matter is   
composed4  ,they are not the atoms of   
the chemist1 nor even the ultimate atoms
 of the  physical world4 ,they stand at 
a far higher level1 and what are usually
  called atoms are composed of vast     
aggregations of these bubbles1 as will  

be  seen later4    ,when the ,solar     
,deity begins to make ,his system1 ,he  
finds ready to ,his hand  this          
material--this infinite mass of tiny    
bubbles which can be built up  into     
various kinds of matter as we know it4  
,he commences by defining the  limit of 
,his field of activity1 a vast sphere   
whose circumference is far  larger than 
the orbit of the outermost of ,his      
future planets4 ,within the  limit of   
that sphere ,he sets up a kind of       
gigantic vortex--a motion which  sweeps 
together all the bubbles into a vast    
central mass1 the material of  the      
nebula that is to be4    ,into this vast
 revolving sphere ,he sends forth       
successive impulses of  force1 gathering
 together the bubbles into ever more and
 more complex  aggregations1 and        
producing in this way seven gigantic    
interpenetrating  worlds of matter of   
different degrees of density1 all       
concentric and all  occupying the same  
space4    ,acting through ,his ,third   

,aspect ,he sends forth into this       
stupendous sphere  the first of these   
impulses4 ,it sets up all through the   
sphere a vast  number of tiny vortices1 
each of which draws into itself         
forty-nine  bubbles1 and arranges them  
in a certain shape4 ,these little       
groupings of  bubbles so formed are the 
atoms of the second of the              
interpenetrating  worlds4 ,the whole    
number of the bubbles is not used in    
this way1 sufficient  being left in the 
dissociated state to act as atoms for   
the first and  highest of these worlds4 
,in due time comes the second impulse1  
which seizes  upon nearly all these     
forty-nine bubble-atoms 7leaving only   
enough to  provide atoms for the second 
world71 draws them back into itself and 
then1  throwing them out again1 sets up 
among them vortices1 each of which holds
  within itself #b1dja bubbles 7#dib74  
,these form the atoms of the third      
world4 ,again after a time comes a third
 impulse1 which in the same way  seizes 

upon nearly all these #b1dja            
bubble-atoms1 draws them back again into
  their original form1 and again throws 
them outward once more as the atoms  of 
the fourth world--each atom containing  
this time #dic bubbles4 ,this  process  
is repeated until the sixth of these    
successive impulses has built  the atom 
of the seventh or the lowest world--that
 atom containing #dif of  the original  
bubbles4    ,this atom of the seventh   
world is the ultimate atom of the       
physical  world--not any of the atoms of
 which chemists speak1 but that ultimate
 out  of which all their atoms are made4
 ,we have at this stage arrived at that 
condition of affairs in which the vast  
whirling sphere contains within  itself 
seven types of matter1 all one in       
essence1 because all built of the  same 
kind of bubbles1 but differing in their 
degree of density4 ,all these  types are
 freely intermingled1 so that specimens 
of each type would be  found in a small 
portion of the sphere taken at random in

 any part of it1  with1 however1 a      
general tendency of the heavier atoms to
 gravitate more  and more towards the   
centre4    ,the seventh impulse sent out
 from the ,third ,aspect of the ,deity  
does not1  as before1 draw back the     
physical atoms which were last made into
 the  original dissociated bubbles1 but 
draws them together into certain        
aggregations1 thus making a number of   
different kinds of what may be called   
proto-elements1 and these again are     
joined together into the various forms  
which are known to science as chemical  
elements4 ,the making of these  extends 
over a long period of ages1 and they are
 made in a certain definite  order by   
the interaction of several forces1 as is
 correctly indicated in  ,sir ,william  
,crookes's paper1 ,the ,genesis of the  
,elements4 ,indeed the  process of their
 making is not even now concluded2      
uranium is the latest  and heaviest     
element so far as we know1 but others   
still more complicated  may perhaps be  

produced in the future4    ,as ages     
rolled on the condensation increased1   
and presently the stage of a  vast      
glowing nebula was reached4 ,as it      
cooled1 still rapidly rotating1 it      
flattened into a huge disc and gradually
 broke up into rings surrounding a      
central body--an arrangement not unlike 
that which ,saturn exhibits at the      
present day1 though on a far larger     
scale4 ,as the time drew near when the  
planets would be required for the       
purposes of evolution1 the ,deity sets  
up  somewhere in the thickness of each  
ring a subsidiary vortex into which a   
great deal of the matter of the ring was
 by degrees collected4 ,the  collisions 
of the gathered fragments caused a      
revival of the heat1 and the  resulting 
planet was for a long time a mass of    
glowing gas4 ,little by  little it      
cooled once more1 until it became fit to
 be the theatre of life  such as ours4  
,thus were all the planets formed4      
,almost all the matter of those         

interpenetrating worlds was by this time
  concentrated into the newly formed    
planets4 ,each of them was and is       
composed of all those different kinds of
 matter4 ,the earth upon which we  are  
now living is not merely a great ball of
 physical matter1 built of the  atoms of
 that lowest world1 but has also        
attached to it an abundant supply  of   
matter of the sixth1 the fifth1 the     
fourth and other worlds4 ,it is well    
known to all students of science that   
particles of matter never actually      
touch one another1 even in the hardest  
of substances4 ,the spaces between  them
 are always far greater in proportion   
than their own size--enormously         
greater4 ,so there is ample room for all
 the other kinds of atoms of all  those 
other worlds1 not only to lie between   
the atoms of the denser matter1  but to 
move quite freely among them and around 
them4 ,consequently1 this  globe upon   
which we live is not one world1 but     
seven interpenetrating  worlds1 all     

occupying the same space1 except that   
the finer types of matter  extend       
further from the centre than does the   
denser matter4    ,we have given names  
to these interpenetrating worlds for    
convenience in  speaking of them4 ,no   
name is needed for the first1 as man is 
not yet in  direct connection with it2  
but when it is necessary to mention it1 
it may  be called the divine world4 ,the
 second is described as the monadic1    
because  in it exist those ,sparks of   
the divine ,life which we call the human
 ,monads2  but neither of these can be  
touched by the highest clairvoyant      
investigations at present possible for  
us4 ,the third sphere1 whose atoms      
contain #b1dja bubbles1 is called the   
spiritual world1 because in it          
functions the highest ,spirit in man as 
now constituted4 ,the fourth is the     
intuitional world1 ,previously called in
 ,theosophical literature the  buddhic  
plane4 because from it come the highest 
intuitions4 ,the fifth is  the mental   

world1 because from its matter is built 
the mind of man4 ,the  sixth is called  
the emotional or astral world1 because  
the emotions of man  cause undulations  
in its matter4 7,the name astral was    
given to it by  medival alchemists1     
because its matter is starry or shining 
as compared to  that of the denser      
world47 ,the seventh world1 composed of 
the type of  matter which we see all    
around us1 is called the physical4      
,the matter of which all these          
interpenetrating worlds are built is    
essentially the same matter1 but        
differently arranged and of different   
degrees of density4 ,therefore the rates
 at which these various types of  matter
 normally vibrate differ also4 ,they may
 be considered as a vast gamut  of      
undulations consisting of many octaves4 
,the physical matter uses a  certain    
number of the lowest of these octaves1  
the astral matter another  group of     
octaves just above that1 the mental     
matter a still further group1  and so   

on4    ,not only has each of these      
worlds its own type of matter2 it has   
also its  own set of aggregations of    
that matter--its own substances4 ,in    
each world  we arrange these substances 
in seven classes according to the rate  
at which  their molecules vibrate4      
,usually1 but not invariably1 the slower
  oscillation involves also a larger    
molecule--a molecule1 that is1 built up 
by a special arrangement of the smaller 
molecules of the next higher            
subdivision4 ,the application of heat   
increases the size of the molecules  and
 also quickens and amplifies their      
undulation1 so that they cover more     
ground1 and the object1 as a whole      
expands1 until the point is reached     
where the aggregation of molecules      
breaks up1 and the latter passes from   
one condition to that next above it4 ,in
 the matter of the physical world  the  
seven subdivisions are represented by   
seven degrees of density of  matter1 to 
which1 beginning from below upwards1 we 

give the names solid1  liquid1 gaseous1 
etheric1 superetheric1 subatomic and    
atomic4    ,the atomic subdivision is   
one in which all forms are built by the 
compression into certain shapes of the  
physical atoms1 without any previous    
collection of these atoms into blocks or
 molecules4 ,typifying the physical     
ultimate atom for the moment by a brick1
 any form in the atomic subdivision     
would be made by gathering together some
 of the bricks1 and building them  into 
a certain shape4 ,in order to make      
matter for the next lower  subdivision1 
a certain number of the bricks 7atoms7  
would first be gathered  together and   
cemented into small blocks of say four  
bricks each1 five  bricks each1 six     
bricks or seven bricks2 and then these  
blocks so made  would be used as        
building stones4 ,for the next          
subdivision several of the  blocks of   
the second subdivision cemented together
 in certain shapes would  form          
building-stones1 and so on to the       

lowest4    ,to transfer any substance   
from the solid condition to the liquid  
7that is  to say1 to melt it7 is to     
increase the vibration of its compound  
molecules  until at last they are shaken
 apart into the simpler molecules of    
which  they were built4 ,this process   
can in all cases be repeated again and  
again  until finally any and every      
physical substance can be reduced to the
  ultimate atoms of the physical world4 
,each of these worlds has its           
inhabitants1 whose senses are normally  
capable  of responding to the           
undulations of their own world only4 ,a 
man living 7as  we are all doing7 in the
 physical world sees1 hears1 feels1 by  
vibrations  connected with the physical 
matter around him4 ,he is equally       
surrounded by  the astral and mental and
 other worlds which are interpenetrating
 his own  denser world1 but of them he  
is normally unconscious1 because his    
senses  cannot respond to the           
oscillations of their matter1 just as   

our physical  eyes cannot see by the    
vibrations of ultra-violet light1       
although  scientific experiments show   
that they exist1 and there are other    
consciousnesses with differently-formed 
organs who can see by them4 ,a  being   
living in the astral world might be     
occupying the very same space as  a     
being living in the physical world1 yet 
each would be entirely  unconscious of  
the other and would in no way impede the
 free movement of  the other4 ,the same 
is true of all other worlds4 ,we are at 
this moment  surrounded by these worlds 
of finer matter1 as close to us as the  
world we  see1 and their inhabitants are
 passing through us and about us1 but we
 are  entirely unconscious of them4     
,since our evolution is centred at      
present upon this globe which we call   
the  earth1 it is in connection with it 
only that we shall be speaking of these 
higher worlds1 so in future when ,i use 
the term astral world ,i shall mean  by 
it the astral part of our own globe     

only1 and not 7as heretofore7 the       
astral part of the whole solar system4  
,this astral part of our own world is   
also a globe1 but of astral matter4 ,it 
occupies the same place as the globe    
which we see1 but its matter 7being so  
much lighter7 extends out into space  on
 all sides of us further than does the  
atmosphere of the earth--a great  deal  
further4 ,it stretches to a little less 
than the mean distance of the  moon1 so 
that though the two physical globes1 the
 earth and the moon1 are  nearly        
#bdj1jjj miles apart1 the astral globes 
of these two bodies touch one  another  
when the moon is in perigee1 but not    
when she is in apogee4 ,i shall  apply  
the term mental world to the still      
larger globe of mental matter in  the   
midst of which our physical earth       
exists4 ,when we come to the still      
higher globes we have spheres large     
enough to touch the corresponding       
spheres of other planets in the system1 
though their matter also is just as     

much about us here on the surface of the
 solid earth as that of the others4     
,all these globes of finer matter are a 
part of us1 and are all revolving  round
 the sun with their visible part4 ,the  
student will do well to accustom        
himself to think of our earth as the    
whole of this mass of interpenetrating  
worlds--not only the comparatively small
 physical ball in the centre of it4     
,chapter ,,iv    ,,the ,,evolution ,,of 
,,life      ,all the impulses of life   
which ,i have described as building the 
interpenetrating worlds come forth from 
the ,third ,aspect of the ,deity4       
,hence in the ,christian scheme that    
,aspect is called the ,giver of ,life1  
the ,spirit who brooded over the face of
 the waters of space4 ,in  ,theosophical
 literature these impulses are usually  
taken as a whole1 and  called the ,first
 ,outpouring4    ,when the worlds had   
been prepared to this extent1 and most  
of the chemical  elements already       
existed1 the ,second ,outpouring of life

 took place1 and  this came from the    
,second ,aspect of the ,deity4 ,it      
brought with it the power  of           
combination4 ,in all the worlds it found
 existing what may be thought of  as    
elements corresponding to those worlds4 
,it proceeded to combine those  elements
 into organisms which it then ensouled1 
and in this way it built up  the seven  
kingdoms of ,nature4 ,theosophy         
recognizes seven kingdoms1 because  it  
regards man as separate from the animal 
kingdom and it takes into  account      
several stages of evolution which are   
unseen by the physical eye1  and gives  
to them the medival name of elemental   
kingdoms4    ,the divine ,life pours    
itself into matter from above1 and its  
whole course  may be thought of in two  
stages--the gradual assumption of       
grosser and  grosser matter1 and then   
the gradual casting off again of the    
vehicles  which have been assumed4 ,the 
earliest level upon which its vehicles  
can be  scientifically observed is the  

mental--the fifth counting from the     
finer to  the grosser1 the first on     
which there are separated globes4 ,in   
practical  study it is found convenient 
to divide this mental world into two    
parts1  which we call the higher and the
 lower according to the degree of       
density  of their matter4 ,the higher   
consists of the three finer subdivisions
 of  mental matter2 the lower part of   
the other four4    ,when the outpouring 
reaches the higher mental world it draws
 together the  ethereal elements there1 
combines them into what at that level   
correspond  to substances and of these  
substances builds forms which it        
inhabits4 ,we  call this the first      
elemental kingdom4    ,after a long     
period of evolution through different   
forms at that level1 the  wave of life1 
which is all the time pressing steadily 
downwards1 learns to  identify itself so
 fully with those forms that1 instead of
 occupying them  and withdrawing from   
them periodically1 it is able to hold   

them permanently  and make them part of 
itself1 so that now from that level it  
can proceed to  the temporary occupation
 of forms at a still lower level4 ,when 
it reaches  this stage we call it the   
second elemental kingdom1 the ensouling 
life of  which resides upon the higher  
mental levels1 while the vehicles       
through  which it manifests are on the  
lower4    ,after another vast period of 
similar length1 it is found that the    
downward  pressure has caused this      
process to repeat itself2 once more the 
life has  identified itself with its    
forms1 and has taken up its residence   
upon the  lower mental levels1 so that  
it is capable of ensouling bodies in the
  astral world4 ,at this stage we call  
it the third elemental kingdom4    ,we  
speak of all these forms as finer or    
grosser relatively to one another1  but 
all of them are almost infinitely finer 
than any with which we are  acquainted  
in the physical world4 ,each of these   
three is a kingdom of  ,nature1 as      

varied in the manifestations of its     
different forms of life as  is the      
animal or vegetable kingdom which we    
know4 ,after a long period spent  in    
ensouling the forms of the third of     
these elemental kingdoms it  identifies 
itself with them in turn1 and so is able
 to ensoul the etheric  part of the     
mineral kingdom1 and becomes the life   
which vivifies that--for  there is a    
life in the mineral kingdom just as much
 as in the vegetable or  the animal1    
although it is in conditions where it   
cannot manifest so  freely4 ,in the     
course of the mineral evolution the     
downward pressure causes  it to identify
 itself in the same way with the etheric
 matter of the  physical world1 and from
 that to ensoul the denser matter of    
such minerals  as are perceptible to our
 senses4    ,in the mineral kingdom we  
include not only what are usually called
  minerals1 but also liquids1 gases and 
many etheric substances the existence   
of which is unknown to western science4 

,all the matter of which we know        
anything is living matter1 and the life 
which it contains is always  evolving4  
,when it has reached the central point  
of the mineral stage the  downward      
pressure ceases1 and is replaced by an  
upward tendency2 the  outbreathing has  
ceased and the indrawing has begun4     
,when mineral evolution is completed1   
the life has withdrawn itself again     
into the astral world1 but bearing with 
it all the results obtained through  its
 experiences in the physical4 ,at this  
stage it ensouls vegetable forms1  and  
begins to show itself much more clearly 
as what we commonly call                
life--plant-life of all kinds2 and at a 
yet later stage of its development  it  
leaves the vegetable kingdom and ensouls
 the animal kingdom4 ,the  attainment of
 this level is the sign that it has     
withdrawn itself still  further1 and is 
now working from the lower mental world4
 ,in order to work  in physical matter  
from that mental world it must operate  

through the  intervening astral matter2 
and that astral matter is now no longer 
part of  the garment of the group-soul  
as a whole1 but is the individual astral
 body  of the animal concerned1 as will 
be later explained4    ,in each of these
 kingdoms it not only passes a period of
 time which is to  our ideas almost     
incredibly long1 but it also goes       
through a definite  course of evolution1
 beginning from the lower manifestations
 of that  kingdom and ending with the   
highest4 ,in the vegetable kingdom1 for 
example1  the life-force might commence 
its career by occupying grasses or      
mosses and  end it by ensouling         
magnificent forest trees4 ,in the animal
 kingdom it  might commence with        
mosquitoes or with animalcul1 and might 
end with the  finest specimens of the   
mammalia4    ,the whole process is one  
of steady evolution from lower forms to 
higher1  from the simpler to the more   
complex4 ,but what is evolving is not   
primarily  the form1 but the life within

 it4 ,the forms also evolve and grow    
better as  time passes2 but this is in  
order that they may be appropriate      
vehicles for  more and more advanced    
waves of life4 ,when the life has       
reached the highest  level possible in  
the animal kingdom1 it may then pass on 
into the human  kingdom1 under          
conditions which will presently be      
explained4    ,the outpouring leaves one
 kingdom and passes to another1 so that 
if we had  to deal with only one wave of
 this outpouring we could have in       
existence  only one kingdom at a time4  
,but the ,deity sends out a constant    
succession  of these waves1 so that at  
any given time we find a number of them 
simultaneously in operation4 ,we        
ourselves represent one such wave2 but  
we  find evolving alongside us another  
wave which ensouls the animal kingdom--a
  wave which came out from the ,deity   
one stage later than we did4 ,we find   
also the vegetable kingdom1 which       
represents a third wave1 and the mineral

  kingdom1 which represents a fourth2   
and occultists know of the existence    
all round us of three elemental         
kingdoms1 which represent the fifth1    
sixth  and seventh waves4 ,all these1   
however1 are successive ripples of the  
same  great outpouring from the ,second 
,aspect of the ,deity4    ,we have here1
 then1 a scheme of evolution in which   
the divine ,life involves  itself more  
and more deeply in matter1 in order that
 through that matter it  may receive    
vibrations which could not otherwise    
affect it--impacts from  without1 which 
by degrees arouse within it rates of    
undulation  corresponding to their own1 
so that it learns to respond to them4   
,later on  it learns of itself to       
generate these rates of undulation1 and 
so becomes a  being possessed of        
spiritual powers4    ,we may presume    
that when this outpouring of life       
originally came forth from  the ,deity1 
at some level altogether beyond our     
power of cognition1 it may  perhaps have

 been homogeneous2 but when it first    
comes within practical  cognizance1 when
 it is itself in the intuitional world1 
but is ensouling  bodies made of the    
matter of the higher mental world1 it is
 already not one  huge world-soul but   
many souls4 ,let us suppose a           
homogeneous outpouring1  which may be   
considered as one vast soul1 at one end 
of the scale2 at the  other1 when       
humanity is reached1 we find that one   
vast soul broken up into  millions of   
the comparatively little souls of       
individual men4 ,at any stage  between  
these two extremes we find an           
intermediate condition1 the immense     
world-soul already subdivided1 but not  
to the utmost limit of possible         
subdivision4    ,each man is a soul1 but
 not each animal or each plant4 ,man1 as
 a soul1 can  manifest through only one 
body at a time in the physical world1   
whereas one  animal soul manifests      
simultaneously through a number of      
animal bodies1 one  plant soul through a

 number of separate plants4 ,a lion1 for
 example1 is not  a permanently separate
 entity in the same way as a man is4    
,when the man  dies--that is1 when he as
 a soul lays aside his physical body--he
 remains  himself exactly as he was     
before1 an entity separate from all     
other  entities4 ,when the lion dies1   
that which has been the separate soul of
 him  is poured back into the mass from 
which it came--a mass which is at the   
same time providing the souls for many  
other lions4 ,to such a mass we give    
the name of group-soul4    ,to such a   
group-soul is attached a considerable   
number of lion bodies--let  us say a    
hundred4 ,each of those bodies while it 
lives has its hundredth  part of the    
group-soul attached to it1 and for the  
time being this is  apparently quite    
separate1 so that the lion is as much an
 individual during  his physical life as
 the man2 but he is not a permanent     
individual4 ,when he  dies the soul of  
him flows back into the group-soul to   

which it belongs1  and that identical   
lion-soul cannot be separated again from
 the group4    ,a useful analogy may    
help comprehension4 ,imagine the        
group-soul to be  represented by the    
water in a bucket1 and the hundred lion 
bodies by a  hundred tumblers4 ,as each 
tumbler is dipped into the bucket it    
takes out  from it a tumblerful of water
 7the separate soul74 ,that water for   
the time  being takes the shape of the  
vehicle which it fills1 and is          
temporarily  separate from the water    
which remains in the bucket1 and from   
the water in  the other tumblers4       
,now put into each of the hundred       
tumblers some kind of colouring matter  
or  some kind of flavouring4 ,that will 
represent the qualities developed by its
  experiences in the separate soul of   
the lion during its lifetime4 ,pour back
  the water from the tumbler into the   
bucket2 that represents the death of    
the lion4 ,the colouring matter or the  
flavouring will be distributed  through 

the whole of the water in the bucket1   
but will be a much fainter  colouring1 a
 much less pronounced flavour when thus 
distributed than it was  when confined  
in one tumbler4 ,the qualities developed
 by the experience of  one lion attached
 to that group-soul are therefore shared
 by the entire  group-soul1 but in a    
much lower degree4    ,we may take out  
another tumblerful of water from that   
bucket1 but we can  never again get     
exactly the same tumblerful after it has
 once been mingled  with the rest4      
,every tumblerful taken from that bucket
 in the future will  contain some traces
 of the colouring or flavouring put into
 each tumbler  whose contents have been 
returned to the bucket4 ,just so the    
qualities  developed by the experience  
of a single lion will become the common 
property of all lions who are in the    
future to be born from that  group-soul1
 though in a lesser degree than that in 
which they existed in  the individual   
lion who developed them4    ,that is the

 explanation of inherited instincts2    
that is why the duckling  which has been
 hatched by a hen takes to the water    
instantly without  needing to be shown  
how to swim2 why the chicken just out of
 its shell will  cower at the shadow of 
a hawk2 why a bird which has been       
artificially  hatched1 and has never    
seen a nest1 nevertheless knows how to  
make one1 and  makes it according to the
 traditions of its kind4    ,lower down 
in the scale of animal life enormous    
numbers of bodies are  attached to a    
single group-soul--countless millions1  
for example1 in the  case of some of the
 smaller insects2 but as we rise in the 
animal kingdom  the number of bodies    
attached to a single group-soul becomes 
smaller and  smaller1 and therefore the 
differences between individuals become  
greater4    ,thus the group-souls       
gradually break up4 ,returning to the   
symbol of the  bucket1 as tumbler after 
tumbler of water is withdrawn from it1  
tinted with  some sort of colouring     

matter and returned to it1 the whole    
bucketful of  water gradually becomes   
richer in colour4 ,suppose that by      
imperceptible  degrees a kind of        
vertical film forms itself across the   
centre of the  bucket1 and gradually    
solidifies itself into a division1 so   
that we have  now a right half and a    
left half to the bucket1 and each       
tumblerful of  water which is taken out 
is returned always to the same section  
from which  it came4    ,then presently 
a difference will be set up1 and the    
liquid in one half of  the bucket will  
no longer be the same as that in the    
other4 ,we have then  practically two   
buckets1 and when this stage is reached 
in a group-soul it  splits into two1 as 
a cell separates by fission4 ,in this   
way1 as the  experience grows ever      
richer1 the group-souls grow smaller but
 more  numerous1 until at the highest   
point we arrive at man with his single  
individual soul1 which no longer returns
 into a group1 but remains always       

separate4    ,one of the life-waves is  
vivifying the whole of a kingdom2 but   
not every  group-soul in that life-wave 
will pass through the whole of that     
kingdom  from the bottom to the top4 ,if
 in the vegetable kingdom a certain     
group-soul has ensouled forest trees1   
when it passes on into the animal       
kingdom it will omit all the lower      
stages--that is1 it will never inhabit  
insects or reptiles1 but will begin at  
once at the level of the lower          
mammalia4 ,the insects and reptiles will
 be vivified by group-souls which  have 
for some reason left the vegetable      
kingdom at a much lower level than  the 
forest tree4 ,in the same way the       
group-soul which has reached the        
highest levels of the animal kingdom    
will not individualize into primitive   
savages1 but into men of somewhat higher
 type1 the primitive savages being      
recruited from group-souls which have   
left the animal kingdom at a lower      
level4    ,group-souls at any level or  

at all levels arrange themselves into   
seven  great types1 according to the    
,minister of the ,deity through whom    
their life  has poured forth4 ,these    
types are clearly distinguishable in all
 the  kingdoms1 and the successive forms
 taken by any one of them form a        
connected series1 so that animals1      
vegetables1 minerals and the varieties  
of the elemental creatures may all be   
arranged into seven great groups1 and   
the life coming along one of those lines
 will not diverge into any of the       
others4    ,no detailed list has yet    
been made of the animals1 plants or     
minerals from  this point of view2 but  
it is certain that the life which is    
found  ensouling a mineral of a         
particular type will never vivify a     
mineral of any  other type than its own1
 though within that type it may vary4   
,when it  passes on to the vegetable and
 animal kingdoms it will inhabit        
vegetables  and animals of that type and
 of no other2 and when it eventually    

reaches  humanity it will individualize 
into men of that type and of no other4  
,the method of individualization is the 
raising of the soul of a particular     
animal to a level so much higher than   
that attained by its group-soul that  it
 can no longer return to the latter4    
,this cannot be done with any  animal1  
but only with those whose brain is      
developed to a certain level1  and the  
method usually adopted to acquire such  
mental development is to  bring the     
animal into close contact with man4     
,individualization1 therefore1  is      
possible only for domestic animals1 and 
only for certain kinds even of  those4  
,at the head of each of the seven types 
stands one kind of domestic  animal--the
 dog for one1 the cat for another1 the  
elephant for a third1 the  monkey for a 
fourth1 and so on4 ,the wild animals can
 all be arranged on  seven lines leading
 up to the domestic animals2 for        
example1 the fox and  the wolf are      
obviously on the same line with the dog1

 while the lion1 the  tiger and the     
leopard equally obviously lead up to the
 domestic cat2 so  that the group-soul  
animating a hundred lions mentioned some
 time ago might  at a later stage of its
 evolution have divided into1 let us    
say1 five  group-souls each animating   
twenty cats4    ,the life-wave spends a 
long period of time in each kingdom2 we 
are now only  a little past the middle  
of such an on1 and consequently the     
conditions  are not favourable for the  
achievement of that individualization   
which  normally comes only at the end of
 a period4 ,rare instances of such      
attainment may occasionally be observed 
on the part of some animal much in      
advance of the average4 ,close          
association with man is necessary to    
produce  this result4 ,the animal if    
kindly treated develops devoted         
affection for  his human friend1 and    
also unfolds his intellectual powers in 
trying to  understand that friend and to
 anticipate his wishes4 ,in addition to 

this1  the emotions and the thoughts of 
the man act constantly upon those of the
  animal1 and tend to raise him to a    
higher level both emotionally and       
intellectually4 ,under favourable       
circumstances this development may      
proceed  so far as to raise the animal  
altogether out of touch with the group  
to  which he belongs1 so that his       
fragment of a group-soul becomes capable
 of  responding to the outpouring which 
comes from the ,first ,aspect of the    
,deity4    ,for this final outpouring is
 not like the others1 a mighty outrush  
affecting thousands or millions         
simultaneously2 it comes to each one    
individually as that one is ready to    
receive it4 ,this outpouring has        
already descended as far as the         
intuitional world2 but it comes no      
farther  than that until this upward    
leap is made by the soul of the animal  
from  below2 but when that happens this 
,third ,outpouring leaps down to meet   
it1  and in the higher mental world is  

formed an ego1 a permanent              
individuality--permanent1 that is1      
until1 far later in his evolution1 the  
man transcends it and reaches back to   
the divine unity from which he came4    
,to make this ego1 the fragment of the  
group-soul 7which has hitherto played   
the part always of ensouling force7     
becomes in its turn a vehicle1 and is   
itself ensouled by that divine ,spark   
which has fallen into it from on high4  
,that ,spark may be said to have been   
hovering in the monadic world over the  
group-soul through the whole of its     
previous evolution1 unable to effect a  
junction with it until its corresponding
 fragment in the group-soul had         
developed sufficiently to permit it4 ,it
 is this breaking away from the rest  of
 the group-soul and developing a        
separate ego which marks the distinction
  between the highest animal and the    
lowest man4          ,chapter ,v        
,,the ,,constitution ,,of ,,man         
,man is therefore in essence a ,spark of

 the divine ,fire1 belonging to the     
monadic world4#a ,to that ,spark1       
dwelling all the time in that world1 we 
give the name ,monad4 ,for the purposes 
of human evolution the ,monad  manifests
 itself in lower worlds4 ,when it       
descends one stage and enters the       
spiritual world1 it shows itself there  
as the triple ,spirit having itself     
three aspects 7just as in worlds        
infinitely higher the ,deity has ,his   
three  ,aspects74 ,of those three one   
remains always in that world1 and we    
call that  the ,spirit in man4 ,the     
second aspect manifests itself in the   
intuitional  world1 and we speak of it  
as the ,intuition in man4 ,the third    
shows itself  in the higher mental      
world1 and we call it the ,intelligence 
in man4 ,these  three aspects taken     
together constitute the ego which       
ensouls the fragment  from the          
group-soul4 ,thus man as we know him1   
though in reality a ,monad  residing in 
the monadic world1 shows himself as an  

ego in the higher mental  world1        
manifesting these three aspects of      
himself 7,spirit1 ,intuition and        
,intelligence7 through that vehicle of  
higher mental matter which we name  the 
causal body4    ,footnote #a3 ,the      
,president has now decided upon a set of
 names for the  planes1 so for the      
future these will be used instead of    
those previously  employed4 ,a table of 
them is given below for reference4      
,,new ,,names                           
,,old ,,names  #a4 ,divine ,world       
di ,plane  #b4 ,monadic ,world          
,anupdaka ,plane  #c4 ,spiritual ,world 
tmic or ,nirvnic ,plane  #d4            
,intuitional ,world            ,buddhic 
,plane  #e4 ,mental ,world              
,mental ,plane  #f4 ,emotional or       
,astral ,world    ,astral ,plane  #g4   
,physical ,world               ,physical
 ,plane    ,these will supersede the    
names given in ,vol4 ,,ii of ,the ,inner
 ,life4    ,this ego is the man during  
the human stage of evolution2 he is the 

nearest  correspondence1 in fact1 to the
 ordinary unscientific conception of the
  soul4 ,he lives unchanged 7except for 
his growth7 from the moment of          
individualization until humanity is     
transcended and merged into divinity4   
,he is in no way affected by what we    
call birth and death2 what we commonly  
consider as his life is only a day in   
his life4 ,the body which we can see1   
the body which is born and dies1 is a   
garment which he puts on for the        
purposes of a certain part of his       
evolution4    ,nor is it the only body  
which he assumes4 ,before he1 the ego in
 the higher  mental world1 can take a   
vehicle belonging to the physical world1
 he must  make a connection with it     
through the lower mental and astral     
worlds4 ,when  he wishes to descend he  
draws around himself a veil of the      
matter of the  lower mental world1 which
 we call his mental body4 ,this is the  
instrument  by means of which he thinks 
all his concrete thoughts--abstract     

thought  being a power of the ego       
himself in the higher mental world4     
,next he draws round himself a veil of  
astral matter1 which we call his  astral
 body2 and that is the instrument of his
 passions and emotions1 and  also 7in   
conjunction with the lower part of his  
mental body7 the  instrument of all such
 thought as is tinged by selfishness and
 personal  feeling4 ,only after having  
assumed these intermediate vehicles can 
he come  into touch with a baby physical
 body1 and be born into the world which 
we  know4 ,he lives through what we call
 his life1 gaining certain qualities as 
the result of its experiences2 and at   
its end1 when the physical body is  worn
 out1 he reverses the process of descent
 and lays aside one by one the          
temporary vehicles which he has assumed4
 ,the first to go is the physical  body1
 and when that is dropped1 his life is  
centred in the astral world and  he     
lives in his astral body4    ,the length
 of his stay in that world depends upon 

the amount of passion and  emotion which
 he has developed within himself in his 
physical life4 ,if  there is much of    
these1 the astral body is strongly      
vitalized1 and will  persist for a long 
time2 if there is but little1 the astral
 body has less  vitality1 and he will   
soon be able to cast that vehicle aside 
in turn4 ,when  that is done he finds   
himself living in his mental body4 ,the 
strength of  that depends upon the      
nature of the thoughts to which he has  
habituated  himself1 and usually his    
stay at this level is a long one4 ,at   
last it comes  to an end1 and he casts  
aside the mental body in turn1 and is   
once more the  ego in his own world4    
,owing to lack of development1 he is as 
yet but partially conscious in that     
world2 the vibrations of its matter are 
too rapid to make any impression  upon  
him1 just as the ultra-violet rays are  
too rapid to make any  impression upon  
our eyes4 ,after a rest there1 he feels 
the desire to  descend to a level where 

the undulations are perceptible to him1 
in order  that he may feel himself to be
 fully alive2 so he repeats the process 
of  descent into denser matter1 and     
assumes once more a mental1 an astral   
and a  physical body4 ,as his previous  
bodies have all disintegrated1 each in  
its  tarn1 these new vehicles are       
entirely distinct from them1 and thus it
  happens that in his physical life he  
has no recollection whatever of other   
similar lives which have preceded it4   
,when functioning in this physical world
 he remembers by means of his mental    
body2 but since that is a new one1      
assumed only for this birth1 it         
naturally cannot contain the memory of  
previous births in which it had no      
part4 ,the man himself1 the ego1 does   
remember them all when in his own       
world1 and occasionally some partial    
recollection of them or influence from  
them filters through into his lower     
vehicles4 ,he does not usually1 in his  
physical life1 remember the experiences 

of earlier lives1 but he does  manifest 
in physical life the qualities which    
those experiences have  developed in    
him4 ,each man is therefore exactly what
 he has made himself  during those past 
lives2 if he has in them developed good 
qualities in  himself1 he possesses the 
good qualities now2 if he neglected to  
train  himself1 and consequently left   
himself weak and of evil disposition1 he
  finds himself precisely in that       
condition now4 ,the qualities1 good or  
evil1  with which he is born are those  
which he has made for himself4    ,this 
development of the ego is the object of 
the whole process of  materialization2  
he assumes those veils of matter        
precisely because through  them he is   
able to receive vibrations to which he  
can respond1 so that his  latent        
faculties may thereby be unfolded4      
,though man descends from on high  into 
these lower worlds1 it is only through  
that descent that a full  cognizance of 
the higher worlds is developed in him4  

,full consciousness in  any given world 
involves the power to perceive and      
respond to all the  undulations of that 
world3 therefore the ordinary man has   
not yet perfect  consciousness at any   
level--not even in this physical world  
which he thinks  he knows4 ,it is       
possible for him to unfold his          
percipience in all these  worlds1 and it
 is by means of such developed          
consciousness that we observe  all these
 facts which ,i am now describing4      
,the causal body is the permanent       
vehicle of the ego in the higher mental 
world4 ,it consists of matter of the    
first1 second and third subdivisions of 
that world4 ,in ordinary people it is   
not yet fully active1 only that matter  
which belongs to the third subdivision  
being vivified4 ,as the ego unfolds  his
 latent possibilities through the long  
course of his evolution1 the  higher    
matter is gradually brought into action1
 but it is only in the  perfected man   
whom we call the ,adept that it is      

developed to its fullest  extent4 ,such 
matter can be discerned by clairvoyant  
sight1 but only by a  seer who knows how
 to use the sight of the ego4    ,it is 
difficult to describe a causal body     
fully1 because the senses  belonging to 
its world are altogether different from 
and higher than ours  at this level4    
,such memory of the appearance of a     
causal body as it is  possible for a    
clairvoyant to bring into his physical  
brain represents it  as ovoid1 and as   
surrounding the physical body of the    
man1 extending to a  distance of about  
eighteen inches from the normal surface 
of that body4 ,in  the case of primitive
 man it resembles a bubble1 and gives   
the impression  of being empty4 ,it is  
in reality filled with higher mental    
matter1 but as  this is not yet brought 
into activity it remains colourless and 
transparent4 ,as advancement continues  
it is gradually stirred into  alertness 
by vibrations which reach it from the   
lower bodies4 ,this comes  but slowly1  

because the activities of man in the    
earlier stages of his  evolution are not
 of a character to obtain expression in 
matter so fine as  that of the higher   
mental body2 but when a man reaches the 
stage where he  is capable either of    
abstract thought or of unselfish emotion
 the matter of  the causal body is      
aroused into response4    ,when these   
rates of undulation are awakened within 
him they show themselves  in his causal 
body as colours1 so that instead of     
being a mere transparent  bubble it     
gradually becomes a sphere filled with  
matter of the most lovely  and delicate 
hues--an object beautiful beyond all    
conception4 ,it is found  by experience 
that these colours are significant4 ,the
 vibration which  denotes the power of  
unselfish affection shows itself as a   
pale  rose-colour2 that which indicates 
high intellectual power is yellow2 that 
which expresses sympathy is green1 while
 blue betokens devotional feeling1  and 
a luminous lilac-blue typifies the      

higher spirituality4 ,the same scheme   
of colour-significance applies to the   
bodies which are built of denser        
matter1 but as we approach the physical 
world the hues are in every case by     
comparison grosser--not only less       
delicate but also less living4    ,in   
the course of evolution in the lower    
worlds man often introduces into  his   
vehicles qualities which are undesirable
 and entirely inappropriate for  his    
life as an ego--such1 for example1 as   
pride1 irritability1 sensuality4        
,these1 like the rest1 are reducible to 
vibrations1 but they are in all  cases  
vibrations of the lower subdivisions of 
their respective worlds1 and  therefore 
they cannot reproduce themselves in the 
causal body1 which is  built exclusively
 of the matter of the three higher      
subdivisions of its  world4 ,for each   
section of the astral body acts strongly
 upon the  corresponding section of the 
mental body1 but only upon the          
corresponding  section2 it cannot       

influence any other part4 ,so the causal
 body can be  affected only by the three
 higher portions of the astral body2 and
 the  oscillations of those represent   
only good qualities4    ,the practical  
effect of this is that the man can build
 into the ego 7that  is1 into his true  
self7 nothing but good qualities2 the   
evil qualities  which he develops are in
 their nature transitory and must be    
thrown aside  as he advances1 because he
 has no longer within him matter which  
can  express them4 ,the difference      
between the causal bodies of the savage 
and  the saint is that the first is     
empty and colourless1 while the second  
is  full of brilliant1 coruscating      
tints4 ,as the man passes beyond even   
saint-hood and becomes a great spiritual
 power1 his causal body increases  in   
size1 because it has so much more to    
express1 and it also begins to pour  out
 from itself in all directions powerful 
rays of living light4 ,in one who  has  
attained ,adeptship this body is of     

enormous dimensions4    ,the mental body
 is built of matter of the four lower   
subdivisions of the  mental world1 and  
expresses the concrete thoughts of the  
man4 ,here also we  find the same       
colour-scheme as in the causal body4    
,the hues are somewhat  less delicate1  
and we notice one or two additions4 ,for
 example1 a thought  of pride shows     
itself as orange1 while irritability is 
manifested by a  brilliant scarlet4 ,we 
may see here sometimes the bright brown 
of avarice1  the grey-brown of          
selfishness1 and the grey-green of      
deceit4 ,here also we  perceive the     
possibility of a mixture of colours2 the
 affection1 the  intellect1 the devotion
 may be tinged by selfishness1 and in   
that case  their distinctive colours are
 mingled with the brown of selfishness1 
and so  we have an impure and muddy     
appearance4 ,although its particles are 
always  in intensely rapid motion among 
themselves1 this body has at the same   
time  a kind of loose organization4     

,the size and shape of the mental body  
are determined by those of the causal   
vehicle4 ,there are in it certain       
striations which divide it more or less 
irregularly into segments1 each of these
 corresponding to a certain  department 
of the physical brain1 so that every    
type of thought should  function through
 its duly assigned portion4 ,the mental 
body is as yet so  imperfectly developed
 in ordinary men that there are many in 
whom a great  number of special         
departments are not yet in activity1 and
 any attempt at  thought belonging to   
those departments has to travel round   
through some  inappropriate channel     
which happens to be fully open4 ,the    
result is that  thought on those        
subjects is for those people clumsy and 
uncomprehending4  ,this is why some     
people have a head for mathematics and  
others are unable  to add correctly--why
 some people instinctively understand1  
appreciate and  enjoy music1 while      
others do not know one tune from        

another4    ,all the matter of the      
mental body should be circulating       
freely1 but  sometimes a man allows his 
thought upon a certain subject to set   
and  solidify1 and then the circulation 
is impeded1 and there is a congestion   
which presently hardens into a kind of  
wart on the mental body4 ,such a wart   
appears to us down here as a prejudice2 
and until it is absorbed and free       
circulation restored1 it is impossible  
for the man to think truly or to see    
clearly with regard to that particular  
department of his mind1 as the          
congestion checks the free passage of   
undulations both outward and inward4    
,when a man uses any part of his mental 
body it not only vibrates for the  time 
more rapidly1 but it also temporarily   
swells out and increases in  size4 ,if  
there is prolonged thought upon a       
subject this increase becomes           
permanent1 and it is thus open to any   
man to increase the size of his  mental 
body either along desirable or          

undesirable lines4    ,good thoughts    
produce vibrations of the finer matter  
of the body1 which by  its specific     
gravity tends to float in the upper part
 of the ovoid2 whereas  bad thoughts1   
such as selfishness and avarice1 are    
always oscillations of  the grosser     
matter1 which tends to gravitate towards
 the lower part of the  ovoid4          
,consequently the ordinary man1 who     
yields himself not infrequently  to     
selfish thoughts of various kinds1      
usually expands the lower part of his   
mental body1 and presents roughly the   
appearance of an egg with its larger    
end downwards4 ,the man who has         
repressed those lower thoughts1 and     
devoted  himself to higher ones1 tends  
to expand the upper part of his mental  
body1  and therefore presents the       
appearance of an egg standing on its    
smaller  end4 ,from a study of the      
colours and striations of a man's mental
 body the  clairvoyant can perceive his 
character and the progress he has made  

in his  present life4 ,from similar     
features of the causal body he can see  
what  progress the ego has made since   
its original formation1 when the man    
left  the animal kingdom4    ,when a man
 thinks of any concrete object--a book1 
a house1 a landscape--he  builds a tiny 
image of the object in the matter of his
 mental body4 ,this  image floats in the
 upper part of that body1 usually in    
front of the face  of the man and at    
about the level of the eyes4 ,it remains
 there as long as  the man is           
contemplating the object1 and usually   
for a little time  afterwards1 the      
length of time depending upon the       
intensity and the  clearness of the     
thought4 ,this form is quite objective1 
and can be seen by  another person1 if  
that other has developed the sight of   
his own mental  body4 ,if a man thinks  
of another1 he creates a tiny portrait  
in just the  same way4 ,if his thought  
is merely contemplative and involves no 
feeling  7such as affection or dislike7 

or desire 7such as a wish to see the    
person7  the thought does not usually   
perceptibly affect the man of whom he   
thinks4    ,if coupled with the thought 
of the person there is a feeling1 as for
  example of affection1 another         
phenomenon occurs besides the forming of
 the  image4 ,the thought of affection  
takes a definite form1 which it builds  
out  of the matter of the thinker's     
mental body4 ,because of the emotion    
involved1 it draws round it also matter 
of his astral body1 and thus we  have an
 astromental form which leaps out of the
 body in which it has been  generated1  
and moves through space towards the     
object of the feeling of  affection4 ,if
 the thought is sufficiently strong1    
distance makes absolutely  no difference
 to it2 but the thought of an ordinary  
person is usually weak  and diffused1   
and is therefore not effective outside a
 limited area4    ,when this            
thought-form reaches its object it      
discharges itself into his  astral and  

mental bodies1 communicating to them its
 own rate of vibration4  ,putting this  
in another way1 a thought of love sent  
from one person to  another involves the
 actual transference of a certain amount
 both of force  and of matter from the  
sender to the recipient1 and its effect 
upon the  recipient is to arouse the    
feeling of affection in him1 and        
slightly but  permanently to increase   
his power of loving4 ,but such a thought
 also  strengthens the power of         
affection in the thinker1 and therefore 
it does  good simultaneously to both4   
,every thought builds a form2 if the    
thought be directed to another person   
it travels to him2 if it be distinctly  
selfish it remains in the immediate     
neighbourhood of the thinker2 if it     
belongs to neither of these categories  
it floats for awhile in space and then  
slowly disintegrates4 ,every man        
therefore is leaving behind him wherever
 he goes a trail of thought forms2  as  
we go along the street we are walking   

all the time amidst a sea of other      
men's thoughts4 ,if a man leaves his    
mind blank for a time1 these residual   
thoughts of others drift through it1    
making in most cases but little         
impression upon him4 ,sometimes one     
arrives which attracts his attention1 so
  that his mind seizes upon it and makes
 it its own1 strengthens it by the      
addition of its force1 and then casts it
 out again to affect somebody else4  ,a 
man therefore1 is not responsible for a 
thought which floats into his  mind1    
because it may be not his1 but someone  
else's2 but he is  responsible if he    
takes it up1 dwells upon it and then    
sends it out  strengthened4             
,self-centred thought of any kind hangs 
about the thinker1 and most men         
surround their mental bodies with a     
shell of such thoughts4 ,such a shell   
obscures the mental vision and          
facilitates the formation of prejudice4 
,each thought-form is a temporary       
entity4 ,it resembles a charged battery1

  awaiting an opportunity to discharge  
itself4 ,its tendency is always to      
reproduce its own rate of vibration in  
the mental body upon which it  fastens  
itself1 and so to arouse in it a like   
thought4 ,if the person at  whom it is  
aimed happens to be busy or already     
engaged in some definite  train of      
thought1 the particles of his mental    
body are already swinging at  a certain 
determinate rate1 and cannot for the    
moment be affected from  without4 ,in   
that case the thought-form bides its    
time1 hanging about its  object until he
 is sufficiently at rest to permit its  
entrance2 then it  discharges itself    
upon him1 and in the act ceases to      
exist4    ,the self-centred thought     
behaves in exactly the same way with    
regard to its  generator1 and discharges
 itself upon him when opportunity       
offers4 ,if it be  an evil thought1 he  
generally regards it as the suggestion  
of a tempting  demon1 whereas in truth  
he tempts himself4 ,usually each        

definite thought  creates a new         
thought-form2 but if a thought-form of  
the same nature is  already hovering    
round the thinker1 under certain        
circumstances a new  thought on the same
 subject1 instead of creating a new     
form1 coalesces with  and strengthens1  
the old one1 so that by long brooding   
over the same  subject a man may        
sometimes create a thought-form of      
tremendous power4 ,if  the thought be a 
wicked one1 such a thought-form may     
become a veritable  evil influence1     
lasting perhaps for many years1 and     
having for a time all  the appearance   
and powers of a real living entity4     
,all these which have been described are
 the ordinary unpremeditated  thoughts  
of man4 ,a man can make a thought-form  
intentionally1 and aim it at  another   
with the object of helping him4 ,this is
 one of the lines of  activity adopted  
by those who desire to serve humanity4  
,a steady stream of  powerful thought   
directed intelligently upon another     

person may be of the  greatest          
assistance to him4 ,a strong            
thought-form may be a real guardian     
angel1 and protect its object from      
impurity1 from irritability or from     
fear4    ,an interesting branch of the  
subject is the study of the various     
shapes and  colours taken by            
thought-forms of different kinds4 ,the  
colours indicate the  nature of the     
thought1 and are in agreement with those
 which we have  already described as    
existing in the bodies4 ,the shapes are 
of infinite  variety1 but are often in  
some way typical of the kind of thought 
which  they express4    ,every thought  
of definite character1 such as a thought
 of affection or  hatred1 of devotion or
 suspicion1 of anger or fear1 of pride  
or jealousy1  not only creates a form   
but also radiates an undulation4 ,the   
fact that1  each one of these thoughts  
is expressed by a certain colour        
indicates that  the thought expresses   
itself as an oscillation of the matter  

of a certain  part of the mental body4  
,this rate of oscillation communicates  
itself to  the surrounding mental matter
 precisely in the same way as the       
vibration of  a bell communicates itself
 to the surrounding air4    ,this       
radiation travels out in all directions1
 and whenever it impinges upon  another 
mental body in a passive or receptive   
condition it communicates to  it        
something of its own vibration4 ,this   
does not convey a definite complete     
idea1 as does the thought-form1 but it  
tends to produce a thought of the  same 
character as itself4 ,for example1 if   
the thought be devotional its           
undulations will excite devotion1 but   
the object of the worship may be        
different in the case of each person    
upon whose mental body they impinge4    
,the thought-form1 on the other hand1   
can reach only one person1 but will     
convey to that person 7if receptive7 not
 only a general devotional feeling1  but
 also a precise image of the ,being for 

whom the adoration was originally  felt4
    ,any person who habitually thinks   
pure1 good and strong thoughts is       
utilizing for that purpose the higher   
part of his mental body--a part which   
is not used at all by the ordinary man1 
and is entirely undeveloped in him4     
,such an one is therefore a power for   
good in the world1 and is being of      
great use to all those of his neighbours
 who are capable of any sort of         
response4 ,for the vibration which he   
sends out tends to arouse a new and     
higher part of their mental bodies1 and 
consequently to open before them        
altogether new fields of thought4    ,it
 may not be exactly the same thought as 
that sent out1 but it is of the  same   
nature4 ,the undulations generated by a 
man thinking of ,theosophy do  not      
necessarily communicate ,theosophical   
ideas to all those around him2 but  they
 do awaken in them more liberal and     
higher thought than that to which  they 
have before been accustomed4 ,on the    

other hand1 the thought-forms  generated
 under such circumstances1 though more  
limited in their action  than the       
radiation1 are also more precise2 they  
can affect only those who  are to some  
extent open to them1 but to them they   
will convey definite  ,theosophical     
ideas4    ,the colours of the astral    
body bear the same meaning as those of  
the higher  vehicles1 but are several   
octaves of colours below them1 and much 
more  nearly approaching to such hues as
 we see in the physical world4 ,it is   
the  vehicle of passion and emotion1 and
 consequently it may exhibit additional 
colours1 expressing man's less desirable
 feelings1 which cannot show  themselves
 at higher levels2 for example1 a lurid 
brownish-red indicates  the presence of 
sensuality1 while black clouds show     
malice and hatred4 ,a  curious livid    
grey betokens the presence of fear1 and 
a much darker grey1  usually arranged in
 heavy rings around the ovoid1 indicates
 a condition of  depression4            

,irritability is shown by the presence  
of a number of small  scarlet flecks in 
the astral body1 each representing a    
small angry impulse4  ,jealousy is shown
 by a peculiar brownish-green1 generally
 studded with the  same scarlet flecks4 
,the astral body is in size and shape   
like those just  described1 and in the  
ordinary man its outline is usually     
clearly marked2  but in the case of     
primitive man it is often exceedingly   
irregular1 and  resembles a rolling     
cloud composed of all the more          
unpleasant colours4    ,when the astral 
body is comparatively quiet 7it is never
 actually at rest7  the colours which   
are to be seen in it indicate those     
emotions to which the  man is most in   
the habit of yielding himself4 ,when the
 man experiences a  rush of any         
particular feeling1 the rate of         
vibration which expresses that  feeling 
dominates for a time the entire astral  
body4 ,if1 for example1 it be  devotion1
 the whole of his astral body is flushed

 with1 blue1 and while the  emotion     
remains at its strongest the normal     
colours do little more than  modify the 
blue1 or appear faintly through a veil  
of it2 but presently the  vehemence of  
the sentiment dies away1 and the normal 
colours re-assert  themselves4 ,but     
because of that spasm of emotion the    
part of the astral  body which is       
normally blue has been increased in     
size4 ,thus a man who  frequently feels 
high devotion soon comes to have a large
 area of the blue  permanently existing 
in his astral body4    ,when the rush of
 devotional feeling comes over him1 it  
is usually  accompanied by thoughts of  
devotion4 ,although primarily formed in 
the  mental body1 these draw round      
themselves a large amount of astral     
matter as  well1 so that their action is
 in both worlds4 ,in both worlds also is
 the  radiation which was previously    
described1 so that the devotional man is
 a  centre of devotion1 and will        
influence other people to share both his

  thoughts and his feelings4 ,the same  
is true in the case of affection1       
anger1 depression--and1 indeed1 of all  
other feelings4    ,the flood of emotion
 does not itself greatly affect the     
mental body1  although for a time it may
 render it almost impossible for any    
activity  from that mental body to come 
through into the physical brain4 ,that  
is not  because that body itself is     
affected1 but because the astral body1  
which  acts as a bridge between it and  
the physical brain1 is vibrating so     
entirely at one rate as to be incapable 
of conveying any undulation which  is   
not in harmony with that4    ,the       
permanent colours of the astral body    
react upon1 the mental4 ,they  produce  
in it their correspondences1 several    
octaves higher1 in the same  manner as a
 musical note produces overtones4 ,the  
mental body in its turn  reacts upon the
 causal in the same way1 and thus all   
the good qualities  expressed in the    
lower vehicles by degrees establish     

themselves permanently  in the ego4 ,the
 evil qualities cannot do so1 as the    
rates of vibrations  which express them 
are impossible for the higher mental    
matter of which the  causal body is     
constructed4    ,so far1 we have        
described vehicles which are the        
expression of the ego in  their         
respective worlds--vehicles1 which he   
provides for himself2 in the  physical  
world we come to a vehicle which is     
provided for him by ,nature  under laws 
which will be later explained--which    
though also in some sense  an expression
 of him1 is by no means a perfect       
manifestation4 ,in ordinary  life we see
 only a small part of this physical     
body--only that which is  built of the  
solid and liquid subdivisions of        
physical matter4 ,the body  contains    
matter of all the seven subdivisions1   
and all of them play their  part in its 
life and are of equal importance1 to it4
    ,we usually speak of the invisible  
part of the physical body as the etheric

  double2 double because it exactly     
reproduces the size and shape of the    
part of the body that we can see1 and   
etheric because it is built--of  that   
finer kind of matter by the vibrations  
of which light is conveyed to  the      
retina of the eye4 7,this must not be   
confused with the true ther of          
space--that of which matter is the      
negation47 ,this invisible part of the  
physical body is of great importance to 
us1 since it is the vehicle through     
which flow the streams of vitality which
 keep the body alive1 and without  it1  
as a bridge to convey undulations of    
thought and feeling from the  astral to 
the visible denser physical matter1 the 
ego could make no use of  the cells of  
his brain4    ,the life of a physical   
body is one of perpetual change and in  
order that it  shall live1 it needs     
constantly to be supplied from three    
distinct sources4  ,it must have food   
for its digestion1 air for its          
breathing1 and vitality  for its        

absorption4 ,this vitality is           
essentially a force1 but when clothed   
in matter it appears to us as a definite
 element1 which exists in all the       
worlds of which we have spoken4 ,at the 
moment we are concerned with that       
manifestation of it which we find in the
 highest subdivision of the  physical   
world4 ,just as the blood circulates    
through the veins1 so does the  vitality
 circulate along the nerves2 and        
precisely as any abnormality in  the    
flow of the blood at once affects the   
physical body1 so does the  slightest   
irregularity in the absorption or flow  
of the vitality affect  this higher part
 of the physical body4    ,vitality is a
 force which comes originally from the  
sun4 ,when an ultimate  physical atom is
 charged with it1 it draws round itself 
six other atoms1  and makes itself into 
an etheric element4 ,the original force 
of vitality is  then subdivided into    
seven1 each of the atoms carrying a     
separate charge4  ,the element thus made

 is absorbed into the human body through
 the etheric  part of the spleen4 ,it is
 there split up into its component      
parts1 which at  once low to the various
 parts of the body assigned to them4    
,the spleen is  one of the seven force  
centres in the etheric part of the      
physical body4 ,in  each of our vehicles
 seven such centres should be in        
activity1 and when  they are thus active
 they are visible to clairvoyant sight4 
,they appear  usually as shallow        
vortices1 for they are the points at    
which the force  from the higher bodies 
enters the lower4 ,in the physical body 
these centres  are3 7#a7 at the base of 
the spine1 7#b7 at the solar plexus1    
7#c7 at the  spleen1 7#d7 over the      
heart1 7#e7 at the throat1 7#f7 between 
the eyebrows1  and 7#g7 at the top of   
the head4 ,there are other dormant      
centres1 but their  awakening is        
undesirable4    ,the shape of all the   
higher bodies as seen by the clairvoyant
 is ovoid1 but  the matter composing    

them is not equally distributed         
throughout the egg4 ,in  the midst of   
this ovoid is the physical body4 ,the   
physical body strongly  attracts astral 
matter1 and in its turn the astral      
matter strongly attracts  mental matter4
 ,therefore by far the greater part of  
the matter of the  astral body is       
gathered within the physical frame2 and 
the same is true of  the mental vehicle4
 ,if we see the astral body of a man in 
its own world1  apart from the physical 
body we shall still perceive the astral 
matter  aggregated in exactly the shape 
of the physical1 although1 as the matter
 is  more fluidic in its nature1 what we
 see is a body built of dense mist1 in  
the midst of an ovoid of much finer     
mist4 ,the same is true for the mental  
body4 ,therefore1 if in the astral or   
the mental world we should meet an      
acquaintance1 we should recognise him by
 his appearance just as instantly  as in
 the physical world4    ,this1 then1 is 
the true constitution of man4 ,in the   

first place he is a  ,monad1 a ,spark of
 the ,divine4 ,of that ,monad the ego is
 a partial  expression1 formed in order 
that he may enter evolution1 and may    
return to  the ,monad with joy1 bringing
 his sheaves with him in the shape of   
qualities  developed by garnered        
experience4 ,the ego in his turn puts   
down part of  himself for the same      
purpose into lower worlds1 and we call  
that part a  personality1 because the   
,latin word persona means a mask1 and   
this  personality is the mask which the 
ego puts upon himself when he manifests 
in worlds lower than his own4 ,just as  
the ego is a small part and an          
imperfect expression of the ,monad1 so  
is the personality a small part and  an 
imperfect expression of the ego2 so that
 what we usually think of as the  man is
 only in truth a fragment of a fragment4
    ,the personality wears three bodies 
or vehicles1 the mental1 the astral and 
the physical4 ,while the man is what we 
call alive and awake on the physical    

earth he is limited by his physical     
body1 for he uses the astral and mental 
bodies only as bridges to connect       
himself with his lowest vehicle4 ,one of
  the limitations of the physical body  
is that it quickly becomes fatigued  and
 needs periodical rest4 ,each night the 
man leaves it to sleep1 and  withdraws  
into his astral vehicle1 which does not 
become fatigued1 and  therefore needs no
 sleep4 ,during this sleep of the       
physical body the man is  free to move  
about in the astral world2 but the      
extent to which he does  this depends   
upon his development4 ,the primitive    
savage usually does not  move more than 
a few miles away from his sleeping      
physical form--often not  as much as    
that2 and he has only the vaguest       
consciousness4    ,the educated man is  
generally able to travel in his astral  
vehicle wherever  he will1 and has much 
more consciousness in the astral world1 
though he has  not often the faculty of 
bringing into his waking life any memory

 of what  he has seen and done while his
 physical body was asleep4 ,sometimes he
 does  remember some incident which he  
has seen1 some experience which he has  
had1  and then he calls it a vivid      
dream4 ,more often his recollections are
  hopelessly entangled with vague       
memories of waking life1 and with       
impressions made from without upon the  
etheric part of his brain4 ,thus we     
arrive at the confused and often absurd 
dreams of ordinary life4 ,the  developed
 man becomes as fully conscious and     
active in the astral world as  in the   
physical1 and brings through into the   
latter full remembrance of  what he has 
been doing in the former--that is1 he   
has a continuous life  without any loss 
of consciousness throughout the whole   
twenty-four hours1  and thus throughout 
the whole of his physical life1 and even
 through death  itself4                 
,chapter ,,vi    ,,after ,,death        
,death is the laying aside of the       
physical body2 but it makes no more     

difference to the ego than does the     
laying aside of an overcoat to the      
physical man4 ,having put off his       
physical body1 the ego continues to live
  in his astral body until the force has
 become exhausted which has been        
generated by such emotions and passions 
as he has allowed himself to feel       
during earth-life4 ,when that has       
happened1 the second death takes place2 
the astral body also falls away from    
him1 and he finds himself living in  the
 mental body and in the lower mental    
world4 ,in that condition he remains    
until the thought-forces generated      
during his physical and astral lives    
have worn themselves out2 then he drops 
the third vehicle in its turn and       
remains once more an ego in his own     
world1 inhabiting his causal body4      
,there is1 then1 no such thing as death 
as it is ordinarily understood4  ,there 
is only a succession of stages in a     
continuous life--stages lived in  the   
three worlds one after another4 ,the    

apportionment of time between these     
three worlds varies much as man         
advances4 ,the primitive man lives      
almost  exclusively in the physical     
world1 spending only a few years in the 
astral  at the end of each of his       
physical lives4 ,as he develops1 the    
astral life  becomes longer1 and as     
intellect3 unfolds in him1 and he       
becomes able to  think1 he begins to    
spend a little time in the mental world 
as well4 ,the  ordinary man of civilized
 races remains longer in the mental     
world than in  the physical and astral2 
indeed1 the more a man evolves the      
longer becomes  his mental1 life and the
 shorter his life in the astral world4  
,the astral life is the result of all   
feelings which have in them the  element
 of self4 ,if they have been directly   
selfish1 they bring him into  conditions
 of great unpleasantness in the astral  
world2 if1 though tinged  with thoughts 
of self1 they have been good and kindly1
 they bring him a  comparatively        

pleasant though still limited astral    
life4 ,such of his  thoughts and        
feelings as have been entirely unselfish
 produce their results  in his life in  
the mental world2 therefore that life in
 the mental1 world  cannot be other than
 blissful4 ,the astral life1 which the  
man has made for  himself either        
miserable or comparatively joyous1      
corresponds to what  ,christians call   
purgatory2 the lower mental life1 which 
is always entirely  happy1 is what is   
called heaven4    ,man makes for himself
 his own purgatory and heaven1 and these
 are not  planes1 but states of         
consciousness4 ,hell does not exist2 it 
is only a  figment of the theological   
imagination2 but a man who lives        
foolishly may  make for himself a very  
unpleasant and long enduring purgatory4 
,neither  purgatory nor heaven can ever 
be eternal1 for a finite cause cannot   
produce  an infinite result4 ,the       
variations in individual cases are so   
wide that to  give actual figures is    

somewhat misleading4 ,if we take the    
average man of  what is called the lower
 middle class1 the typical specimen of  
which would  be a small shopkeeper or   
shop-assistant1 his average life in the 
astral  world would be perhaps about    
forty years1 and the life in the mental 
world  about two hundred4 ,the man of   
spirituality and culture1 on the other  
hand1  may have perhaps twenty years of 
life in the astral world and a thousand 
in  the heaven life4 ,one who is        
specially developed may reduce the      
astral life  to a few days or hours and 
spend fifteen hundred years in heaven4  
,not only does the length of these      
periods vary greatly1 but the conditions
  in both worlds also differ widely4    
,the matter of which all these bodies   
are  built is not dead matter but       
living1 and that fact has to be taken   
into  consideration4 ,the physical body 
is built up of cells1 each of which is a
  tiny separate life animated by the    
,second ,outpouring1 which comes forth  

from the ,second ,aspect of the ,deity4 
,these cells are of varying kinds and   
fulfil various functions1 and all these 
facts must be taken into account if  the
 man wishes to understand the work of   
his physical body and to live a  healthy
 life in it4    ,the same thing applies 
to the astral and mental bodies4 ,in the
 cell-life  which permeates them there  
is as yet nothing in the way of         
intelligence1  but there is a strong    
instinct always pressing in the         
direction of what is  for its           
development4 ,the life animating the    
matter of which such bodies are  built  
is upon the outward arc of evolution1   
moving downwards or outwards  into      
matter1 so that progress for it means to
 descend into denser forms of  matter1  
and to learn to express itself through  
them4 ,unfoldment for the man  is just  
the opposite of this2 he has already    
sunk deeply into matter and is  now     
rising out of that towards his source4  
,there is consequently a constant       

conflict of interests between the man   
within and the life inhabiting the      
matter of his vehicles1 inasmuch as its 
tendency is downward1 while his is      
upward4    ,the matter of the astral    
body 7or rather the life animating its  
molecules7  desires for its evolution   
such undulations as it can get1 of as   
many  different kinds as possible1 and  
as coarse as possible4 ,the next step in
  its evolution will be to ensoul       
physical matter and become used to its  
still slower oscillations2 and as a step
 on the way to that1 it desires the     
grossest of the astral vibrations4 ,it  
has not the intelligence definitely  to 
plan for these2 but its instinct helps  
it to discover how most easily to       
procure them4    ,the molecules of the  
astral body are constantly changing1 as 
are those of  the physical body1 but    
nevertheless the life in the mass of    
those astral  molecules has a sense1    
though a very vague sense1 of itself as 
a whole--as  a kind of temporary entity4

 ,it does not know that it is part of a 
man's  astral body2 it is quite         
incapable of understanding what a man   
is2 but it  realizes in a blind way that
 under its present conditions it        
receives many  more waves1 and much     
stronger ones1 than it would receive if 
floating at  large in the atmosphere4   
,it would then only occasionally catch1 
as from a  distance1 the radiation of   
man's passions and emotions2 now it is  
in the  very heart of them1 it can miss 
none1 and it gets them at their         
strongest4  ,therefore it feels itself  
in a good position1 and it makes an     
effort to  retain that position4 ,it    
finds itself in contact with something  
finer than  itself--the matter of the   
man's mental body2 and it comes to feel 
that if  it can contrive to involve that
 finer something in its own undulations1
  they will be greatly intensified and  
prolonged4    ,since astral matter is   
the vehicle of desire and mental matter 
is the  vehicle of thought1 this        

instinct1 when translated into our      
language1 means  that if the astral body
 can induce us to think that we want    
what it  wants1 it is much more likely  
to get it4 ,thus it exercises a slow    
steady  pressure upon the man--a kind of
 hunger on its side1 but for him a      
temptation to what is coarse and        
undesirable4 ,if he be a passionate man 
there is a gentle but ceaseless pressure
 in the direction of irritability2  if  
he be a sensual man1 an equally steady  
pressure in the direction of  impurity4 
,a man who does not understand this     
usually makes one of two mistakes with  
regard to it3 either he supposes it to  
be the prompting of his own nature1  and
 therefore regards that nature as       
inherently evil1 or he thinks of the    
pressure as coming from outside--as a   
temptation of an imaginary devil4 ,the  
truth lies between the two4 ,the        
pressure is natural1 not to the man but 
to  the vehicle which he is using2 its  
desire is natural and right for it1 but 

harmful to the man1 and therefore it is 
necessary that he should resist it4  ,if
 he does so resist1 if he declines to   
yield himself to the feelings  suggested
 to him1 the particles within him which 
need those vibrations  become apathetic 
for lack of nourishment1 and eventually 
atrophy and fall  out from his astral   
body1 and are replaced by other         
particles1 whose  natural wave-rate is  
more nearly in accordance with that     
which the man  habitually permits within
 his astral body4    ,this gives the    
reason for what are called promptings of
 the lower nature  during life4 ,if the 
man yields himself to them1 such        
promptings grow  stronger and stronger  
until at last he feels as though he     
could not resist  them1 and identifies  
himself with them--which is exactly what
 this curious  half-life in the         
particles of the astral body wants him  
to do4    ,at the death of the physical 
body this vague astral consciousness is 
alarmed4 ,it realizes that its existence

 as a separated mass is menaced1 and  it
 takes instinctive steps to defend      
itself and to maintain its position as  
long as possible4 ,the matter of the    
astral body is far more fluidic than    
that of the physical1 and this          
consciousness seizes upon its particles 
and  disposes them so as to resist      
encroachment4 ,it puts the grossest and 
densest upon the outside as a kind of   
shell1 and arranges the others in       
concentric layers1 so that the body as a
 whole may become as resistant to       
friction as its constitution permits1   
and may therefore retain its shape as   
long as possible4    ,for the man this  
produces various unpleasant effects4    
,the physiology of the  astral body is  
quite different from that of the        
physical2 the latter  acquires its      
information from without by means of    
certain organs which are  specialized as
 the instruments of its senses1 but the 
astral body has no  separated senses in 
our meaning of the word4 ,that which for

 the astral body  corresponds to sight  
is the power of its molecules to respond
 to impacts  from without1 which come to
 them by means of similar molecules4    
,for  example1 a man has within his     
astral body matter belonging to all the 
subdivisions of the astral world1 and it
 is because of that that he is  capable 
of seeing objects built of the matter of
 any of these  subdivisions4            
,supposing an astral object to be made  
of the matter of the second and third   
subdivisions mixed1 a man living in the 
astral world could perceive that  object
 only if on the surface of his astral   
body there were particles  belonging to 
the second and third subdivisions of    
that world which were  capable of       
receiving and recording the vibrations  
which that object set up4  ,a man who   
from the arrangement of his body by the 
vague consciousness of  which we have   
spoken1 had on the outside of that      
vehicle only the denser  matter of the  
lowest subdivision1 could no more be    

conscious of the object  which we have  
mentioned than we are ourselves         
conscious in the physical  body of the  
gases which move about us in the        
atmosphere or of objects built          
exclusively of etheric matter4          
,during physical life the matter of the 
man's astral body is in constant        
motion1 and its particles pass among one
 another much as do those of  boiling   
water4 ,consequently at any given moment
 it is practically certain  that        
particles of all varieties will be      
represented on the surface of his       
astral body1 and that therefore when he 
is using his astral body during  sleep  
he will be able to see by its means any 
astral object which  approaches him4    
,after death1 if he has allowed the     
rearrangement to be made 7as from       
ignorance1 all ordinary persons do7 his 
condition in this respect will be       
different4 ,having on the surface of his
 astral body only the lowest and        
grossest particles1 he can receive      

impressions only from corresponding     
particles outside2 so that instead of   
seeing the whole of the astral world    
about him1 he will see only one-seventh 
of it1 and that the densest and  most   
impure4 ,the vibrations of this heavier 
matter are the expressions only  of     
objectionable feelings and emotions1 and
 of the least refined class of  astral  
entities4 ,therefore it emerges that a  
man in this condition can see  only the 
undesirable inhabitants of the astral   
world1 and can feel only its  most      
unpleasant and vulgar influences4    ,he
 is surrounded by other men1 whose      
astral bodies are probably of quite     
ordinary character2 but since he can see
 and feel only that which is lowest  and
 coarsest in them1 they appear to him to
 be monsters of vice with no  redeeming 
features4 ,even his friends seem not at 
all what they used to be1  because he is
 now incapable of appreciating any of   
their better qualities4  ,under these   
circumstances it is little wonder that  

he considers the astral  world a hell2  
yet the fault is in no way with the     
astral world1 but with  himself--first1 
for allowing within himself so much of  
that cruder type of  matter1 and1       
secondly1 for letting that vague astral 
consciousness dominate  him and dispose 
it in that particular way4    ,the man  
who has studied these matters declines  
absolutely to yield to the  pressure    
during life or to permit the            
rearrangement after death1 and          
consequently he retains his power of    
seeing the astral world as a whole1  and
 not merely the cruder and baser part of
 it4    ,the astral world has many      
points in common with the physical2 just
 like the  physical1 it presents        
different appearances to different      
people1 and even  to the same person at 
different periods of his career4 ,it is 
the home of  emotions and of lower      
thoughts2 and emotions are much stronger
 in that  world than in this4 ,when a   
person is awake we cannot see that      

larger part  of his emotion at all2 its 
strength goes in setting in motion the  
gross  physical matter of the brain4 ,so
 if we see a man show affection here1   
what  we can see is not the whole of his
 affection1 but only such part of it as 
is left after all this other work has   
been done4 ,emotions therefore bulk  far
 more largely in the astral life than in
 the physical4 ,they in no way  exclude 
higher thought if they are controlled1  
so in the astral world as in  the       
physical a man may devote himself to    
study and to helping his fellows1  or he
 may waste his time and drift about     
aimlessly4    ,the astral world extends 
nearly to the mean distance of the orbit
 of the  moon2 but though the whole of  
this realm is open to any of its        
inhabitants  who have not permitted the 
redistribution of their matter1 the     
great  majority remain much nearer to   
the surface of the earth4 ,the matter of
 the  different subdivisions of that    
world interpenetrates with perfect      

freedom1  but there is on the whole a   
general tendency for the denser matter  
to  settle towards the centre4 ,the     
conditions are much like those which    
obtain  in a bucket of water which      
contains in suspension a number of kinds
 of  matter of different degrees of     
density4 ,since the water is kept in    
perpetual motion1 the different kinds of
 matter are diffused through it2  but in
 spite of that1 the densest matter is   
found in greatest quantity  nearest to  
the bottom4 ,so that though we must not 
at all think of the  various            
subdivisions of the astral world as     
lying above one another as do  the coats
 of an onion1 it is nevertheless true   
that the average arrangement  of the    
matter of those subdivisions partakes   
somewhat of that general  character4    
,astral matter interpenetrates physical 
matter precisely as though it were  not 
there1 but each subdivision of physical 
matter has a strong attraction  for     
astral matter of the corresponding      

subdivision4 ,hence it arises that      
every physical body has its astral      
counterpart4 ,if ,i have a glass of     
water  standing upon a table1 the glass 
and the table1 being of physical matter 
in  the solid state1 are interpenetrated
 by astral matter of the lowest         
subdivision4 ,the water in the glass1   
being liquid1 is interpenetrated by     
what we may call astral liquid--that is1
 by astral matter of the sixth          
subdivision2 whereas the air surrounding
 both1 being physical matter in the     
gaseous condition1 is entirely          
interpenetrated by astral gaseous       
matter--that is1 astral matter of the   
fifth subdivision4    ,but just as air1 
water1 glass and table are alike        
interpenetrated all the  time by the    
finer physical matter which we have     
called etheric1 so are all  the astral  
counterparts interpenetrated by the     
finer astral matter of the  higher      
subdivisions which correspond to the    
etheric4 ,but even the astral  solid is 

less dense than the finest of the       
physical ethers4    ,the man who finds  
himself in the astral world after death1
 if he has not  submitted to the        
rearrangement of the matter of his body1
 will notice but  little difference from
 physical life4 ,he can float about in  
any direction  at will1 but in actual   
fact he usually stays in the            
neighbourhood to which  he is           
accustomed4 ,he is still able to        
perceive his house1 his room1 his       
furniture1 his relations1 his friends4  
,the living1 when ignorant of the       
higher worlds1 suppose themselves to    
have lost those who have laid aside     
their physical bodies2 but the dead are 
never for a moment under the  impression
 that they have lost the living4        
,functioning as they are in the astral  
body1 the dead can no longer see the    
physical bodies of those whom they have 
left behind2 but they do see their      
astral bodies1 and as those are exactly 
the same in outline as the  physical1   

they are perfectly aware of the presence
 of their friends4 ,they  see each one  
surrounded by a faint ovoid of luminous 
mist1 and if they  happen to be         
observant1 they may notice various other
 small changes in  their surroundings2  
but it is at least quite clear to them  
that they have  not gone away to some   
distant heaven or hell1 but still remain
 in touch  with the world which they    
know1 although they see it at a somewhat
  different angle4    ,the dead man has 
the astral body of his living friend    
obviously before him1  so he cannot     
think of him as lost2 but while the     
friend is awake1 the dead  man will not 
be able to make any impression upon him1
 for the consciousness  of the friend is
 then in the physical world1 and his    
astral body is being  used only as a    
bridge4 ,the dead man cannot therefore  
communicate with his  friend1 nor can he
 read his friend's higher thoughts2 but 
he will see by  the change in colour in 
the astral body any emotion which that  

friend may  feel1 and with a little     
practice and observation he may easily  
learn to  read all those thoughts of his
 friend which have in them anything of  
self  or of desire4    ,when the friend 
falls asleep the whole position is      
changed4 ,he is then also  conscious in 
the astral world side by side with the  
dead man1 and they can  communicate in  
every respect as freely as they could   
during physical life4  ,the emotions    
felt by the living react strongly upon  
the dead who love them4  ,if the former 
give way to grief1 the latter cannot but
 suffer severely4    ,the conditions of 
life after death are almost infinite in 
their variety1  but they can be         
calculated without difficulty by any one
 who will take the  trouble to          
understand the astral world and to      
consider the character of the  person   
concerned4 ,that character is not in the
 slightest degree changed by  death2 the
 man's thoughts1 emotions and desires   
are exactly the same as  before4 ,he is 

in every way the same man1 minus his    
physical body2 and his  happiness or    
misery depends upon the extent to which 
this loss of the  physical body affects 
him4    ,if his longings have been such 
as need a physical body for their       
gratification1 he is likely to suffer   
considerably4 ,such a craving  manifests
 itself as a vibration in the astral    
body1 and while we are still  in this   
world most of its strength is employed  
in setting in motion the  heavy physical
 particles4 ,desire is therefore a far  
greater force in the  astral life than  
in the physical1 and if the man has not 
been in the habit  of controlling it1   
and if in this new life it cannot be    
satisfied1 it may  cause him great and  
long-continued trouble4    ,take as an  
illustration the extreme case of a      
drunkard or a sensualist4  ,here we have
 a lust which has been strong enough    
during physical life to  overpower      
reason1 common sense and all the        
feelings of decency and of  family      

affection4 ,after death the man finds   
himself in the astral world  feeling the
 appetite perhaps a hundred times more  
strongly1 yet absolutely  unable to     
satisfy it because he has lost the      
physical body4 ,such a life is  a very  
real hell--the only hell there is2 yet  
no one is punishing him2 he  is reaping 
the perfectly natural result of his own 
action4 ,gradually as  time passes this 
force of desire wears out1 but only at  
the cost of  terrible suffering for the 
man1 because to him every day seems as a
  thousand years4 ,he has no measure of 
time such as we have in the physical    
world4 ,he can measure it only by his   
sensations4 ,from a distortion of this  
fact has come the blasphemous idea of   
eternal damnation4    ,many other cases 
less extreme than this will readily     
suggest themselves1 in  which a         
hankering which cannot be fulfilled may 
prove itself a torture4 ,a  more        
ordinary case is that of a man who has  
no particular vices1 such as  drink or  

sensuality1 but yet has been attached   
entirely to things of the  physical     
world1 and has lived a life devoted to  
business or to aimless  social          
functions4 ,for him the astral world is 
a place of weariness2 the  only thing   
for which he craves are no longer       
possible for him1 for in the  astral    
world there is no business to be done1  
and1 though he may have as  much        
companionship as he wishes1 society is  
now for him a very different  matter1   
because all the pretences upon which it 
is usually based in this  world are no  
longer possible4    ,these cases1       
however1 are only the few1 and for most 
people the state after  death is much   
happier than life upon earth4 ,the first
 feeling of which the  dead man is      
usually conscious is one of the most    
wonderful and delightful  freedom4 ,he  
has absolutely nothing to worry about1  
and no duties rest upon  him1 except    
those which he chooses to impose upon   
himself4 ,for all but a  very small     

minority1 physical life is spent in     
doing what the man would  much rather   
not do2 but he has to do it in order to 
support himself or his  wife and family4
 ,in the astral world no support is     
necessary2 food is no  longer needed1   
shelter is not required1 since he is    
entirely unaffected by  heat or cold2   
and each man by the mere exercise of his
 thought clothes  himself as he wishes4 
,for the first time since early         
childhood the man is  entirely free to  
spend the whole of his time in doing    
just exactly what he  likes4    ,his    
capacity for every kind of enjoyment is 
greatly enhanced1 if only that          
enjoyment does not need a physical body 
for its expression4 ,if he loves the    
beauties of ,nature1 it is now within   
his power to travel with great  rapidity
 and without fatigue over the whole     
world1 to contemplate all its  loveliest
 spots1 and to explore its most secret  
recesses4 ,if he delights in  art1 all  
the world's masterpieces are at his     

disposal4 ,if he loves music1  he can go
 where he will to hear it1 and it will  
now mean much more to him  than it has  
ever meant before2 for though he can no 
longer hear the  physical sounds1 he can
 receive the whole effect of the music  
into himself  in far fuller measure than
 in this lower world4 ,if he is a       
student of  science1 he can not only    
visit the great scientific men of the   
world1 and  catch from them such        
thoughts and ideas as may be within his 
comprehension1  but also he can         
undertake researches of his own into the
 science of this  higher world1 seeing  
much more of what he is doing than has  
ever before  been possible to him4 ,best
 of all1 he whose great delight in this 
world has  been to help his fellow men  
will still find ample scope for his     
philanthropic efforts4    ,men are no   
longer hungry1 cold1 or suffering from  
disease in this astral  world2 but there
 are vast numbers who1 being ignorant1  
desire  knowledge--who1 being still in  

the grip of desire for earthly things1  
need  the explanation which will turn   
their thought to higher levels--who have
  entangled themselves in a web of their
 own imaginings1 and can be set free    
only by one who understands these new   
surroundings and can help them to       
distinguish the facts of the world from 
their own ignorant  misrepresentation of
 them4 ,all these can be helped by the  
man of  intelligence and of kindly      
heart4 ,many men arrive in the astral   
world in  utter ignorance of its        
conditions1 not realizing at first that 
they are  dead1 and when they do realize
 it fearing the fate that may be in     
store for  them1 because of false and   
wicked theological teaching4 ,all of    
these need  the cheer and comfort which 
can only be given to them by a man of   
common  sense who possesses some        
knowledge of the facts of ,nature4      
,there is thus no lack of the most      
profitable occupation for any man whose 
interests during his physical life have 

been rational2 nor is there any  lack of
 companionship4 ,men whose tastes and   
pursuits are similar drift  naturally   
together there just as they do here2 and
 many realms of ,nature1  which during  
our physical life are concealed by the  
dense veil of matter1  now lie open for 
the detailed study of those who care to 
examine them4    ,to a large extent     
people make their own surroundings4 ,we 
have already  referred to the seven     
subdivisions of this astral world4      
,numbering these  from the highest and  
least material downwards1 we find that  
they fall  naturally into three         
classes--divisions one1 two and three   
forming one such  class1 and four1 five 
and six another2 while the seventh and  
lowest of all  stands alone4 ,as ,i have
 said1 although they all interpenetrate1
 their  substance has a general tendency
 to arrange itself according to its     
specific gravity1 so that most of the   
matter belonging to the higher          
subdivisions is found at a greater      

elevation above the surface of the earth
  than the bulk of the matter of the    
lower portions4    ,hence1 although any 
person inhabiting the astral world can  
move into any  part of it1 his natural  
tendency is to float at the level which 
corresponds  with the specific gravity  
of the heaviest matter in his astral    
body4 ,the  man who has not permitted   
the rearrangement of the matter of his  
astral  body after death is entirely    
free of the whole astral world2 but the 
majority1 who do permit it1 are not     
equally free--not because there is      
anything to prevent them from rising to 
the highest level or sinking to the     
lowest1 but because they are able to    
sense clearly only a certain part of    
that world4    ,i have described        
something of the fate of a man who is on
 the lowest level1  shut in by a strong 
shell of coarse matter4 ,because of the 
extreme  comparative density of that    
matter he is conscious of less outside  
of his  own subdivision than a man at   

any other level4 ,the general specific  
gravity  of his own astral body tends to
 make him float below the surface of the
  earth4 ,the physical matter of the    
earth is absolutely non-existent to his 
astral senses1 and his natural          
attraction is to that least delicate    
form of  astral matter which is the     
counterpart of that solid earth4 ,a man 
who has  confined himself to that lowest
 subdivision will therefore usually find
  himself floating in darkness and cut  
off to a great extent from others of    
the dead1 whose lives have been such as 
to keep them on a higher level4         
,divisions four1 five and six of the    
astral world 7to which most people are  
attracted7 have for their background the
 astral counterpart of the physical     
world in which we live1 and all its     
familiar accessories4 ,life in the sixth
  subdivision is simply like our        
ordinary life on this earth minus the   
physical body and its necessities while 
as it ascends through the fifth and     

fourth divisions it becomes less and    
less material and is more and more      
withdrawn from our lower world and its  
interests4    ,the first1 second and    
third sections1 though occupying the    
same space1 yet  give the impression of 
being much further removed from the     
physical1 and  correspondingly less     
material4 ,men who inhabit these levels 
lose sight of  the earth and its        
belongings2 they are usually deeply     
self-absorbed1 and to  a large extent   
create their own surroundings1 though   
these are sufficiently  objective to be 
perceptible to other men of their level1
 and also to  clairvoyant vision4       
,this region is the summerland of which 
we hear in spiritualistic  circles--the 
world in which1 by the exercise of their
 thought1 the dead  call into temporary 
existence their houses and schools and  
cities4 ,these  surroundings1 though    
fanciful from our point of view1 are to 
the dead as  real as houses1 temples or 
churches built of stone are to us1 and  

many  people live very contentedly there
 for a number of years in the midst of  
all these thought-creations4    ,some of
 the scenery thus produced is very      
beautiful2 it includes lovely  lakes1   
magnificent mountains1 pleasant flower  
gardens1 decidedly superior  to anything
 in the physical world2 though on the   
other hand it also  contains much which 
to the trained clairvoyant 7who has     
learned to see  things as they are7     
appears ridiculous--as1 for example1 the
 endeavours of  the unlearned to make a 
thought-form of some of the curious     
symbolic  descriptions contained in     
their various scriptures4 ,an ignorant  
peasant's  thought-image of a beast full
 of eyes within1 or of a sea of glass   
mingled  with fire1 is naturally often  
grotesque1 although to its maker it is  
perfectly satisfactory4 ,this astral    
world is full of thought-created        
figures and landscapes4 ,men of all     
religions image here their deities and  
their respective conceptions of         

paradise1 and enjoy themselves greatly  
among these dream-forms until they pass 
into the mental world and come into     
touch with something nearer to reality4 
,every one after death--any ordinary    
person1 that is1 in whose case the      
rearrangement of the matter of the      
astral body has been made--has to pass  
through all these subdivisions in turn4 
,it does not follow that every one  is  
conscious in all of them4 ,the          
ordinarily decent person has in his     
astral  body but little of the matter of
 its lowest portion--by no means enough 
to  construct a heavy shell4 ,the       
redistribution puts on the outside of   
the body  its densest matter2 in the    
ordinary man this is usually matter of  
the sixth  subdivision1 mixed with a    
little of the seventh1 and so he finds  
himself  viewing the counterpart of the 
physical world4    ,the ego is steadily 
withdrawing into himself1 and as he     
withdraws he leaves  behind him level   
after level of this astral matter4 ,so  

the length of the  man's detention in   
any section of the astral world is      
precisely in  proportion to the amount  
of its matter which is found in his     
astral body1  and that in turn depends  
upon the life he has lived1 the desires 
he has  indulged1 and the class of      
matter which by so doing he has         
attracted  towards him and built into   
himself4 ,finding himself then in the   
sixth  section1 still hovering about the
 places and persons with which he was   
most  closely connected while on earth1 
the average man1 as time passes on1     
finds  the earthly surroundings         
gradually growing dimmer and becoming of
 less and  less importance to him1 and  
he tends more and more to mould his     
entourage  into agreement with the more 
persistent of his thoughts4 ,by the time
 that  he reaches the third level he    
finds that this characteristic has      
entirely  superseded the vision of the  
realities of the astral world4    ,the  
second subdivision is a shade less      

material than the third1 for if the     
latter is the summerland of the         
spiritualists1 the former is the        
material  heaven of the more ignorantly 
orthodox2 while the first or highest    
level  appears to be the special home of
 those who during life have devoted     
themselves to materialistic but         
intellectual pursuits1 following them   
not  for the sake of benefiting their   
fellow men1 but either from motives of  
selfish ambition or simply for the sake 
of intellectual exercise4 ,all these    
people are perfectly happy4 ,later on   
they will reach a stage when they can   
appreciate something much higher1 and   
when that stage comes they will find    
the higher ready for them4    ,in this  
astral life people of the same nation   
and of the same interest tend  to keep  
together1 precisely as they do here4    
,the religious people1 for  example1 who
 imagine for themselves a material      
heaven1 do not at all  interfere with   
men of other faiths whose ideas of      

celestial joy are  different4 ,there is 
nothing to prevent a ,christian from    
drifting into the  heaven of the ,hindu 
or the ,muhammadan1 but he is little    
likely to do so1  because his interests 
and attractions are all in the heaven of
 his own  faith1 along with friends who 
have shared that faith with him4 ,this  
is by  no means the true heaven         
described by any of the religions1 but  
only a  gross and material              
misrepresentation of it2 the real thing 
will be found  when we come to consider 
the mental world4    ,the dead man who  
has not permitted the rearrangement of  
the matter of his  astral body is free  
of the entire world1 and can wander all 
over it at  will1 seeing the whole of   
whatever he examines1 instead of only a 
part of  it as the others do4 ,he does  
not find it inconveniently crowded1 for 
the  astral world is much larger than   
the surface of the physical earth1 while
  its population is somewhat smaller1   
because the average life of humanity in 

the astral world is shorter than the    
average in the physical4    ,not only   
the dead1 however1 are the inhabitants  
of this astral world1 but  always about 
one-third of the living as well1 who    
have temporarily left  their physical   
bodies behind them in sleep4 ,the astral
 world has also a  great number of      
non-human inhabitants1 some of them far 
below the level of  man1 and some       
considerably above him4 ,the            
nature-spirits form an enormous         
kingdom1 some of whose members exist in 
the astral world1 and make a large  part
 of its population4 ,this vast kingdom  
exists in the physical world  also1 for 
many of its orders wear etheric bodies  
and are only just beyond  the range of  
ordinary physical sight4 ,indeed1       
circumstances not  infrequently occur   
under which they can be seen1 and in    
many lonely  mountain districts these   
appearances are traditional among the   
peasants1 by  whom they are commonly    
spoken of as fairies1 good people1      

pixies or  brownies4    ,they are       
protean1 but usually prefer to wear a   
miniature human form4 ,since  they are  
not yet individualized1 they may be     
thought of almost as etheric  and astral
 animals2 yet many of them are          
intellectually quite equal to  average  
humanity4 ,they have their nations and  
types just as we have1 and  they are    
often grouped into four great classes1  
and called the spirits of  earth1 water1
 fire and air4 ,only the members of the 
last of these four  divisions normally  
confine their manifestation to the      
astral world1 but  their numbers are so 
prodigious that they are everywhere     
present in it4    ,another great kingdom
 has its representatives here--the      
kingdom of the  angels 7called in ,india
 the devas74 ,this is a body of beings  
who stand far  higher in evolution than 
man1 and only the lowest fringe of their
 hosts  touches the astral world--a     
fringe whose constituent members are    
perhaps at  about the level of          

development of what we should call a    
distinctly good  man4    ,we are neither
 the only nor even the principal        
inhabitants of our solar  system2 there 
are other lines of evolution running    
parallel with our own  which do not pass
 through humanity at all1 though they   
must all pass  through a level          
corresponding to that of humanity4 ,on  
one of these other  lines of evolution  
are the nature-spirits above described1 
and at a higher  level of that line     
comes this great kingdom of the angels4 
,at our present  level of evolution they
 come into obvious contact with us only 
very rarely1  but as we develop we shall
 be likely to see more of               
them--especially as the  cyclic progress
 of the world is now bringing it more   
and more under the  influence of the    
,seventh ,ray4 ,this ,seventh ,ray has  
ceremonial for one of  its              
characteristics1 and it is through      
ceremonial such as that of the  ,church 
or of ,freemasonry that we come most    

easily into touch with the  angelic     
kingdom4    ,when all the man's lower   
emotions have worn themselves out--all  
emotions1 ,i  mean1 which have in them  
any thought of self--his life in the    
astral world  is over1 and the ego      
passes on into the mental world4 ,this  
is not in any  sense a movement in      
space2 it is simply that the steady     
process of  withdrawal has now passed   
beyond even the finest kind of astral   
matter2 so  that the man's consciousness
 is focussed in the mental world4 ,his  
astral  body has not entirely           
disintegrated1 though it is in process  
of doing so1  and he leaves behind him  
an astral corpse1 just as at a previous 
stage of  the withdrawal he left behind 
him a physical corpse4 ,there is a      
certain  difference between the two     
which should be noticed1 because of the 
consequences which ensue from it4       
,when the man leaves his physical body  
his separation from it should be        
complete1 and generally is so2 but this 

is not the case with the much finer     
matter of the astral body4 ,in the      
course of his physical life the ordinary
  man usually entangles himself so much 
in astral matter 7which1 from another   
point of view1 means that he identifies 
himself so closely with his lower       
desires7 that the indrawing force of the
 ego cannot entirely separate him  from 
it again4 ,consequently1 when he finally
 breaks away from the astral  body and  
transfers his activities to the mental1 
he loses a little of  himself he leaves 
some of himself behind imprisoned in the
 matter of the  astral body4    ,this   
gives a certain remnant of vitality to  
the astral1 corpse1 so that it  still   
moves freely in the astral world1 and   
may easily be mistaken by the  ignorant 
for the man himself--the more so as such
 fragmentary consciousness  as still    
remains to it is part of the man1 and   
therefore it naturally  regards itself  
and speaks of itself as the man4 ,it    
retains his memories1  but is only a    

partial and unsatisfactory              
representation of him4 ,sometimes  in   
spiritualistic sances one comes into    
contact with an entity of this          
description1 and wonders how it is that 
one's friend has deteriorated so  much  
since his death4 ,to this fragmentary   
entity we give the name shade4    ,at a 
later stage even this fragment of       
consciousness dies out of the astral    
body1 but does not return to the ego to 
whom it originally belonged4 ,even  then
 the astral corpse still remains1 but   
when it is quite without any  trace of  
its former life we call it a shell4 ,of 
itself a shell cannot  communicate at a 
sance1 or take any action of any sort2  
but such shells  are frequently seized  
upon by sportive nature-spirits and used
 as temporary  habitations4 ,a shell so 
occupied can communicate at a sance and 
masquerade as its original owner1 since 
some of his characteristics and  certain
 portions of his memory can be evoked by
 the nature-spirit from his  astral     

corpse4    ,when a man falls asleep1 he 
withdraws in his astral body1 leaving   
the whole  of the physical vehicle      
behind him4 ,when he dies1 he draws out 
with him the  etheric part of the       
physical body1 and consequently has     
usually at least a  moment of           
unconsciousness while he is freeing     
himself from it4 ,the etheric  double is
 not a vehicle and cannot be used as    
such2 so when the man is  surrounded by 
it1 he is for the moment able to        
function neither in the  physical world 
nor the astral4 ,some men succeed in    
shaking themselves free  of this etheric
 envelope in a few moments2 others rest 
within it for hours1  days or even      
weeks4    ,nor is it certain that1 when 
the man is free from this1 he will at   
once  become conscious of the astral    
world4 ,for there is in him a good deal 
of  the lowest kind of astral matter1 so
 that a shell of this may be made       
around him4 ,but he may be quite unable 
to use that matter4 ,if he has lived  a 

reasonably decent life he is little in  
the habit of employing it or  responding
 to its vibrations1 and he cannot       
instantly acquire this habit4  ,for that
 reason1 he may remain unconscious until
 that matter gradually  wears away1 and 
some matter which he is in the habit of 
using comes on  the surface4 ,such an   
occlusion1 however1 is scarcely ever    
complete1 for  even in the most         
carefully made shell some particles of  
the finer matter  occasionally find     
their way to the surface1 and give him  
fleeting glimpses  of his surroundings4 
,there are some men who cling so        
desperately to their physical vehicles  
that  they will not relax their hold    
upon the etheric double1 but strive with
 all  their might to retain it4 ,they   
may be successful in doing so for a     
considerable time1 but only at the cost 
of great discomfort to themselves4      
,they are shut out from both worlds1 and
 find themselves surrounded by a  dense 
grey mist1 through which they see very  

dimly the things of the  physical world1
 but with all the colour gone from them4
 ,it is a terrible  struggle for them to
 maintain their position in this        
miserable condition1  and yet they will 
not relax their hold upon the etheric   
double1 feeling  that that is at least  
some sort of link with the only world   
that they know4  ,thus they drift about 
in a condition of loneliness and misery 
until from  sheer fatigue their hold    
fails them1 and they slip into the      
comparative  happiness of astral life4  
,sometimes in their desperation they    
grasp blindly  at other bodies1 and try 
to enter into them1 and occasionally    
they are  successful in such an attempt4
 ,they may seize upon a baby body1      
ousting the  feeble personality for whom
 it was intended1 or sometimes they     
grasp even  the body of an animal4 ,all 
this trouble arises entirely from       
ignorance1 and  it can never happen to  
anyone who understands the laws of life 
and death4    ,when the astral life is  

over1 the man dies to that world in     
turn1 and  awakens in the mental world4 
,with him it is not at all what it is to
 the  trained clairvoyant1 who ranges   
through it and lives amidst the         
surroundings which he finds there1      
precisely as he would in the physical or
  astral worlds4 ,the ordinary man has  
all through his life been encompassing  
himself with a mass of thought-forms4   
,some which are transitory1 to which  he
 pays little attention1 have fallen away
 from him long ago1 but those  which    
represent the main interests of his life
 are always with him1 and  grow ever    
stronger and stronger4 ,if some of these
 have been selfish1 their  force pours  
down into astral matter1 and he has     
exhausted them during his  life in the  
astral world4 ,but those which are      
entirely unselfish belong  purely to his
 mental body1 and so when he finds      
himself in the mental world  it is      
through these special thoughts that he  
is able to appreciate it4    ,his mental

 body is by no means fully developed2   
only those parts of it are  really in   
action to their fullest extent which he 
has used in this  altruistic manner4    
,when he awakens again after the second 
death1 his first  sense is one of       
indescribable bliss and vitality--a     
feeling of such utter  joy in living    
that he needs for the time nothing but  
just to live4 ,such  bliss is of the    
essence of life in all the higher worlds
 of the system4  ,even astral life has  
possibilities of happiness far greater  
than anything  that we can know in the  
dense body2 but the heaven-life in the  
mental world  is out of all proportion  
more blissful than the astral4 ,in each 
higher  world the same experience is    
repeated4 ,merely to live in any one of 
them  seems the uttermost conceivable   
bliss2 and yet1 when the next one is    
reached1 it is seen that it far         
surpasses the last4    ,just as the     
bliss increases1 so does the wisdom and 
the breadth of view4 ,a  man fusses     

about in the physical world and thinks  
himself so busy and so  wise2 but when  
he touches even the astral1 he realizes 
at once that he has  been all the time  
only a caterpillar crawling about and   
seeing nothing but  his own leaf1       
whereas now he has spread his wings like
 the butterfly and  flown away into the 
sunshine of a wider world4 ,yet1        
impossible as it may  seem1 the same    
experience is repeated when he passes   
into the mental world1  for this life is
 in turn so much fuller and wider and   
more intense than the  astral that once 
more no comparison is possible4 ,and yet
 beyond all these  there is still       
another life1 that of the intuitional   
world1 unto which even  this is but as  
moonlight unto sunlight4    ,the man's  
position in the mental world differs    
widely from that in the  astral4 ,there 
he was using a body to which he was     
thoroughly accustomed1 a  body which he 
had been in the habit of employing every
 night during sleep4  ,here he finds    

himself living in a vehicle which he has
 never used before--a  vehicle          
furthermore which is very far from being
 fully developed--a vehicle  which shuts
 him out to a great extent from the     
world about him1 instead of  enabling   
him to see it4 ,the lower part of his   
nature burnt itself away  during his    
purgatorial life1 and now there remain  
to him only his higher  and more refined
 thoughts1 the noble and unselfish      
aspirations which he  poured out during 
earth-life4 ,these cluster round him1   
and make a sort of  shell about him1    
through the medium of which he is able  
to respond to  certain types of         
vibrations in this refined matter4      
,these thoughts which surround him are  
the powers by which he draws upon the   
wealth of the heaven-world1 and he finds
 it to be a storehouse of infinite      
extent1 upon which he is able to draw   
just according to the power of those    
thoughts and aspirations2 for in this   
world is existing the infinite  fullness

 of the ,divine ,mind1 open in all its  
limitless affluence to every  soul1 just
 in proportion as that soul has         
qualified itself to receive4 ,a  man who
 has already completed his human        
evolution1 who has fully realized  and  
unfolded the divinity whose germ is     
within him1 finds the whole of this     
glory within his reach2 but since none  
of us has yet done that1 since we  are  
only gradually rising towards that      
splendid consummation1 it follows  that 
none of us as yet can grasp that        
entirety4    ,but each draws from it and
 cognizes so much of it as he has by    
previous  effort prepared himself to    
take4 ,different individuals bring very 
different  capacities2 they tell us in  
the ,east that each man brings his own  
cup1 and  some of the cups are large and
 some are small1 but small or large     
every cup  is filled to its utmost      
capacity2 the sea of bliss holds far    
more than  enough for all4    ,a man can
 look out upon all this glory and beauty

 only through the windows  which he     
himself has made4 ,every one of these   
thought-forms is such a  window1 through
 which response may come to him from the
 forces without4 ,if  during his        
earth-life he has chiefly regarded      
physical things1 then he has  made for  
himself but few windows through which   
this higher glory can shine  in upon    
him4 ,yet every man who is above the    
lowest savage must have had  some touch 
of pure unselfish feeling1 even if it   
were but once in all his  life1 and that
 will be a window for him now4    ,the  
ordinary man is not capable of any great
 activity in this mental world2  his    
condition is chiefly receptive1 and his 
vision of anything outside his  own     
shell of thought is of the most limited 
character4 ,he is surrounded by  living 
forces1 mighty angelic inhabitants of   
this glorious world1 and many  of their 
orders are very sensitive to certain    
aspirations of man and  readily respond 
to them4 ,but a man can take advantage  

of these only in so  far as he has      
already prepared himself to profit by   
them1 for his thoughts  and aspirations 
are only along certain lines1 and he    
cannot suddenly form  new lines4 ,there 
are many directions which the higher    
thought may  take--some of them personal
 and some impersonal4 ,among the latter 
are art1  music and philosophy2 and a   
man whose interest lay along any one of 
these  lines finds both measureless     
enjoyment and unlimited instruction     
waiting  for him--that is1 the amount of
 enjoyment and instruction is limited   
only  by his power of perception4    ,we
 find a large number of people whose    
only higher thoughts are those          
connected with affection and devotion4  
,if a man loves another deeply or if  he
 feels strong devotion to a personal    
deity1 he makes a strong mental  image  
of that friend or of the deity1 and the 
object of his feeling is  often present 
in his mind4 ,inevitably he takes that  
mental image into the  heaven-world with

 him1 because it is to that level of    
matter that it  naturally belongs4      
,take first the case of affection4 ,the 
love which forms and retains such an    
image is a very powerful force--a force 
which is strong enough to reach and  to 
act upon the ego of his friend in the   
higher part of the mental world4  ,it is
 that ego that is the real man whom he  
loves--not the physical body  which is  
so partial a representation of him4 ,the
 ego of the friend1 feeling  this       
vibration1 at once and eagerly responds 
to it1 and pours himself into  the      
thought-form1 which has been made for   
him2 so that the man's friend is  truly 
present with him more vividly than ever 
before4 ,to this result it  makes no    
difference whatever whether the friend  
is what we call living or  dead2 the    
appeal is made not to the fragment of   
the friend which is  sometimes          
imprisoned in a physical body1 but to   
the man himself on his own  true level2 
and he always responds4 ,a man who has a

 hundred friends can  simultaneously and
 fully respond to the affection of every
 one of them1 for  no number of         
representations on a lower level can    
exhaust the infinity of  the ego4       
,thus every man in his heaven-life has  
around him all the friends for whose    
company he wishes1 and they are for him 
always at their best1 because he        
himself makes for them the thought-form 
through which they manifest to him4  ,in
 our limited physical world we are so   
accustomed to thinking of our  friend as
 only the limited manifestation which we
 know in the physical  world1 that it is
 at first difficult for us to realize   
the grandeur of the  conception2 when we
 can realize it1 we shall see how much  
nearer we are in  truth to our friends  
in the heaven-life than we ever were on 
earth4 ,the  same is true in the case of
 devotion4 ,the man in the heaven-world 
is two  great stages nearer to the      
object of his devotion than he was      
during  physical life1 and so his       

experiences are of a far more           
transcendent  character4    ,in this    
mental world1 as in the astral1 there   
are seven subdivisions4 ,the  first1    
second and third are the habitat of the 
ego in his causal body1 so  the mental  
body contains matter of the remaining   
four only1 and it is in  those sections 
that his heaven-life is passed4 ,man    
does not1 however1 pass  from one to the
 other of these1 as is the case in the  
astral world1 for  there is nothing in  
this life corresponding to the          
rearrangement4 ,rather is  the man drawn
 to the level which best corresponds to 
the degree of his  development1 and on  
that level he spends the whole of his   
life in the  mental body4 ,each man     
makes his own conditions1 so that the   
number of  varieties is infinite4       
,speaking broadly1 we may say that the  
dominant characteristic observed in  the
 lowest portion is unselfish family     
affection4 ,unselfish it must be1 or  it
 would find no place here2 all selfish  

tinges1 if there were any1 worked  out  
their results in the astral world4 ,the 
dominant characteristic of the  sixth   
level may be said to be                 
anthropomorphical religious devotion2   
while  that of the fifth section is     
devotion expressing itself in active    
work of  some sort4 ,all these--the     
fifth1 sixth and seventh                
subdivisions--are  concerned with the   
working out of devotion to personalities
 7either to  one's family and friends or
 to a personal deity7 rather than the   
wider  devotion to humanity for its own 
sake1 which finds its expression in the 
next section4 ,the activities of this   
fourth stage are varied4 ,they can best 
be arranged in four main divisions3     
unselfish pursuit of spiritual          
knowledge2 high philosophy or scientific
 thought2 literary or artistic  ability 
exercised for unselfish purposes2 and   
service for the sake of  service4       
,even to this glorious heaven-life there
 comes an end1 and then the mental  body

 in its turn drops away as the others   
have done1 and the man's life in  his   
causal body begins4 ,here the man needs 
no windows1 for this is his true  home  
and all his walls have fallen away4 ,the
 majority of men have as yet  but very  
little consciousness at such a height as
 this2 they rest dreamily  unobservant  
and scarcely awake1 but such vision as  
they have is true1  however limited it  
may be by their lack of development4    
,still1 every time  they return1 these  
limitations will be smaller1 and they   
themselves will be  greater2 so that    
this truest life will be wider and      
fuller for them4    ,as this improvement
 continues1 this causal life grows1     
longer and longer1  assuming an ever    
larger proportion as compared to the    
existence at lower  levels4 ,and as he  
grows1 the man becomes capable not only 
of receiving but  also of giving4 ,then 
indeed is his triumph approaching1 for  
he is learning  the lesson of the       
,christ1 learning the crowning glory of 

sacrifice1 the  supreme delight of      
pouring out all his life for the helping
 of his  fellow-men1 the devotion of the
 self to the all1 of celestial strength 
to  human service1 of all those splendid
 heavenly forces to the aid of the      
struggling sons of earth4 ,that is part 
of the life that lies before us2  these 
are some of the steps which even we who 
are still so near the bottom  of the    
golden ladder may see rising above us1  
so that we may report them to  those who
 have not seen as yet1 in order that    
they too may open their eyes  to the    
unimaginable splendour which surrounds  
them here and now in this  dull daily   
life4 ,this is part of the gospel of    
,theosophy--the certainty of  this      
sublime future for all4 ,it is certain  
because it is here already1  because to 
inherit it we have only to fit ourselves
 for it4          ,chapter ,,vii        
,,reincarnation      ,this life of the  
ego in his own world1 which is so       
glorious and so fully  satisfying for   

the developed man1 plays but a very     
small part in the life  of the ordinary 
person1 for in his case the ego has not 
yet reached a  sufficient stage of      
development to be awake in his causal   
body4 ,in  obedience to the law of      
,nature he has withdrawn into it1 but in
 doing so he  has lost the sensation of 
vivid life1 and his restless desire to  
feel this  once more pushes him in the  
direction of another descent into       
matter4    ,this is the scheme of       
evolution appointed for man at the      
present  stage--that he shall develop by
 descending into grosser matter1 and    
then  ascend to carry back into himself 
the result of the experiences so        
obtained4 ,his real life1 therefore1    
covers millions of years1 and what we   
are in the habit of calling a life is   
only one day of this greater  existence4
 ,indeed1 it is in reality only a small 
part of one day2 for a  life of seventy 
years in the physical world is often    
succeeded by a period  of twenty times  

that length spent in higher spheres4    
,every one of us has a long line of     
these physical lives behind him1 and the
  ordinary man has a fairly long line   
still in front of him4 ,each of such    
lives is a day at school4 ,the ego puts 
upon himself his garment of flesh  and  
goes forth into the school of the       
physical world to learn certain         
lessons4 ,he learns them1 or does not   
learn them1 or partially learns them1   
as the case may be1 during his schoolday
 of earth-life2 then he lays aside  the 
vesture of the flesh and returns home to
 his own level for rest and             
refreshment4 ,in the morning of each new
 life he takes up again his lesson  at  
the point where he left it the night    
before4 ,some lessons he may be able  to
 learn in one day1 while others may take
 him many days4    ,if he is an apt     
pupil and learns quickly what is needed1
 if he obtains an  intelligent grasp of 
the rules of the school1 and takes the  
trouble to  adapt his conduct to them1  

his school-life is comparatively short1 
and when  it is over he goes forth fully
 equipped into the real life of the     
higher  worlds for which all this is    
only a preparation4 ,other egos are     
duller boys  who do not learn so        
quickly2 some of them do not understand 
the rules of  the school1 and through   
that ignorance are constantly breaking  
them2 others  are wayward1 and even when
 they see the rules they cannot at once 
bring  themselves to act in harmony with
 them4 ,all of these have a longer      
school-life1 and by their own actions   
they delay their entry upon the real    
life of the higher worlds4    ,for this 
is a school in which no pupil ever      
fails2 every one must go on to  the end4
 ,he has no choice as to that2 but the  
length of time which he will  take in   
qualifying himself for the higher       
examinations is left entirely to  his   
own discretion4 ,the wise pupil1 seeing 
that school-life is not a thing  in     
itself1 but only a preparation for a    

more glorious and far wider life1       
endeavours to comprehend as fully as    
possible the rules of his school1 and   
shapes his life in accordance with them 
as closely as he can1 so that no  time  
may be lost in the learning of whatever 
lessons are necessary4 ,he  co-operates 
intelligently with the ,teachers1 and   
sets himself to do the  maximum of work 
which is possible for him1 in order that
 as soon as he can  he may come of age  
and enter into his kingdom as a         
glorified ego4    ,theosophy explains to
 us the laws under which this           
school-life must be  lived1 and in that 
way gives a great advantage to its      
students4 ,the first  great law is that 
of evolution4 ,every man has to become a
 perfect man1 to  unfold to the fullest 
degree the divine possibilities which   
lie latent  within him1 for that        
unfoldment is the object of the entire  
scheme so far  as he is concerned4 ,this
 law of evolution steadily presses him  
onward to  higher and higher            

achievements4 ,the wise man tries to    
anticipate its  demands--to run ahead of
 the necessary curriculum1 for in that  
way he not  only avoids all collision   
with it1 but he obtains the maximum of  
assistance  from its action4 ,the man   
who lags behind in the race of life     
finds its  steady pressure constantly   
constraining him--a pressure which1 if  
resisted1  rapidly becomes painful4     
,thus the laggard on the path of        
evolution has  always the sense of being
 hunted and driven by his fate1 while   
the man who  intelligently co-operates  
is left perfectly free to choose the    
direction in  which he shall move1 so   
long as it is onward and upward4    ,the
 second great law under which this      
evolution is taking place is the law  of
 cause and effect4 ,there can be no     
effect without its cause1 and every     
cause must produce its effect4 ,they are
 in fact not two but one1 for the       
effect is really part of the cause1 and 
he who sets one in motion sets the      

other also4 ,there is in ,nature no such
 idea as that of reward or  punishment1 
but only of cause and effect4 ,anyone   
can see this in connection  with        
mechanics or chemistry2 the clairvoyant 
sees it equally clearly with  regard to 
the problems of evolution4 ,the same law
 obtains in the higher as  in the lower 
worlds2 there1 as here1 the angle of    
reflection is always  equal to the angle
 of incidence4 ,it is a law of mechanics
 that action and  reaction are equal and
 opposite4 ,in the almost infinitely    
finer matter of  the higher worlds the  
reaction is by no means always          
instantaneous2 it may  sometimes be     
spread over long periods of time1 but it
 returns inevitably  and exactly4       
,just as certain in its working as the  
mechanical law in the physical world  is
 the higher law1 according to which the 
man who sends out a good thought  or    
does a good action receives good in     
return1 while the man who sends out  an 
evil thought or does an evil action1    

receives evil in return with equal      
accuracy--once more1 not in the least a 
reward or punishment administered  by   
some external will1 but simply as the   
definite and mechanical result of  his  
own activity4 ,man has learnt to        
appreciate a mechanical result in the   
physical world1 because the reaction is 
usually almost immediate and can be     
seen by him4 ,he does not invariably    
understand the reaction in the higher   
worlds because that takes a wider sweep1
 and often returns not in this  physical
 life1 but in some future one4    ,the  
action of this law affords the          
explanation of a number of the problems 
of ordinary life4 ,it accounts for the  
different destinies imposed upon        
people1 and also for the differences in 
the people themselves4 ,if one man  is  
clever in a certain direction and       
another is stupid1 it is because in a   
previous life the clever man has devoted
 much effort to practise in that        
particular direction1 while the stupid  

man is trying it for the first time4    
,the genius and the precocious child are
 examples not of the favouritism of     
some deity but of the result produced by
 previous lives of application4 ,all    
the varied circumstances which          
surrounded us are the result of our own 
actions in the past1 precisely as are   
the qualities of which we find          
ourselves in possession4 ,we are what we
 have made ourselves1 and our           
circumstances are such as we have       
deserved4    ,there is1 however1 a      
certain adjustment or apportionment of  
these effects4  ,though the law is a    
natural law and mechanical in its       
operation1 there are  nevertheless      
certain great ,angels who are concerned 
with its  administration4 ,they cannot  
change by one feather-weight the amount 
of the  result which follows upon any   
given thought or act1 but they can      
within  certain limits expedite or delay
 its action1 and decide what form it    
shall  take4    ,if this were not done  

there would be at least a possibility   
that in his  earlier stages the man     
might blunder so seriously that the     
results of his  blundering might be more
 than he could bear4 ,the plan of the   
,deity is to  give man a limited amount 
of free-will2 if he uses that small     
amount well1  he earns the right to a   
little more next time2 if he uses it    
badly1  suffering comes upon him as the 
result of such evil use1 and he finds   
himself restrained by the result of his 
previous actions4 ,as the man learns    
how to use his free-will1 more and more 
of it is entrusted to him1 so that  he  
can acquire for himself practically     
unbounded freedom in the direction  of  
good1 but his power to do wrong is      
strictly restricted4 ,he can progress   
as rapidly as he will1 but he cannot    
wreck his life in his ignorance4 ,in    
the earlier stages of the savage life of
 primitive man it is natural that  there
 should be on the whole more of evil    
than of good1 and if the entire  result 

of his actions came at once upon a man  
as yet so little developed1  it might   
well crush the newly evolved powers     
which are still so feeble4    ,besides  
this1 the effects of his actions are    
varied in character4 ,while  some of    
them produce immediate results1 others  
need much more time for  their action1  
and so it comes to pass that as the man 
develops he has above  him a hovering   
cloud of undischarged results1 some of  
them good1 some of  them bad4 ,out of   
this mass 7which we may regard for      
purposes of analogy  much as though it  
were a debt owing to the powers of      
,nature7 a certain  amount falls due in 
each of his successive births2 and that 
amount1 so  assigned1 may be thought of 
as the man's destiny for that particular
 life4    ,all that it means is that a  
certain amount of joy and a certain     
amount of  suffering are due to him1 and
 will unavoidably happen to him2 how he 
will  meet this destiny and what use he 
will make of it1 that is left entirely  

to  his own option4 ,it is a certain    
amount of force which has to work itself
  out4 ,nothing can prevent the action  
of that force1 but its action may       
always be modified by the application of
 a new force in another direction1  just
 as is the case in mechanics4 ,the      
result of past evil is like any other   
debt2 it may be paid in one large cheque
 upon the bank of life--by some one     
supreme catastrophe2 or it may be paid  
in a number of smaller notes1 in  minor 
troubles and worries2 in some cases it  
may even be paid in the small  change of
 a great number of petty annoyances4    
,but one thing is quite  certain--that1 
in some form or other1 paid it will have
 to be4    ,the conditions of our       
present life1 then1 are absolutely the  
result of our  own action in the past2  
and the other side of that statement is 
that our  actions in this life are      
building up conditions for the next one4
 ,a man who  finds himself limited      
either in powers or in outer            

circumstances may not  always be able to
 make himself or his conditions all that
 he would wish in  this life2 but he can
 certainly secure for the next one      
whatever he  chooses4    ,man's every   
action ends not with himself1 but       
invariably affects others  around him4  
,in some cases this effect may be       
comparatively trivial1 while  in others 
it may be of the most serious character4
 ,the trivial results1  whether good or 
bad1 are simply small debits or credits 
in our account with  ,nature2 but the   
greater effects1 whether good or bad1   
make a personal  account which is to be 
settled with the individual concerned4  
,a man who gives a meal to a hungry     
beggar1 or cheers him by a kindly word1 
will receive the result of his good     
action as part of a kind of general     
fund of ,nature's benefits2 but one who 
by some good action changes the  whole  
current of another man's life will      
assuredly have to meet that same  man   
again in a future life1 in order that he

 who has been benefited may  have the   
opportunity of repaying the kindness    
that has been done to him4  ,one who    
causes annoyance to another will suffer 
proportionately for it  somewhere1      
somehow1 in the future1 though he may   
never meet again the man  whom he has   
troubled2 but one who does serious harm 
to another1 one who  wrecks his life or 
retards his evolution1 must certainly   
meet his victim  again at some later    
point in the course of their lives1 so  
that he may have  the opportunity1 by   
kindly and self-sacrificing service1 of 
counterbalancing the wrong which he has 
done4 ,in short1 large debts must be    
paid personally1 but small ones go into 
the general fund4    ,these then are the
 principal factors which determine the  
next birth of the  man4 ,first acts the 
great law of evolution1 and its tendency
 is to press  the man into that position
 in which he can most easily develop the
  qualities which he most needs4 ,for   
the purposes of the general scheme1     

humanity is divided into great races1   
called root-races1 which rule and       
occupy the world successively4 ,the     
great ,aryan or ,indo-,caucasian race1  
which at the present moment includes the
 most advanced of ,earth's  inhabitants1
 is one of these4 ,that which came      
before it in the order of  evolution was
 the ,mongolian race1 usually called in 
,theosophical books  ,atlantean because 
the continent from which it ruled the   
world lay where now  roll the waters of 
the ,atlantic ocean4 ,before that came  
the ,negroid race1  some of whose       
descendants still exist1 though by this 
time much mingled  with offshoots of    
later races4 ,from each of these great  
root-races there  are many offshoots    
which we call sub-races--such1 for      
example1 as the ,roman  races or the    
,teutonic2 and each of the sub-races in 
turn divides itself  into branch-races1 
such as the ,french and the ,italians1  
the ,english and the  ,germans4         
,these arrangements are made in order   

that for each ego there may be a wide   
choice of varying conditions and        
surroundings4 ,each race is especially  
adapted to develop within its people one
 or other of the qualities which  are   
needed in the course of evolution4 ,in  
every nation there exist an  almost     
infinite number of diverse conditions1  
riches and poverty1 a wide  field of    
opportunities or a total lack of them1  
facilities for development  or          
conditions under which development is   
difficult or well-nigh impossible4      
,amidst all these infinite possibilities
 the pressure of the law of  evolution  
tends to guide the man to precisely     
those which best suit his  needs at the 
stage at which he happens to be4    ,but
 the action of this law is limited by   
that other law of which we spoke1  the  
law of cause and effect4 ,the man's     
actions in the past may not have  been  
such as to deserve 7if we may put it so7
 the best possible  opportunities2 he   
may have set in motion in his past      

certain forces the  inevitable result of
 which will be to produce limitations2  
and these  limitations may operate to   
prevent his receiving that best possible
 of  opportunities1 and so as the result
 of his own actions in the past he may  
have to put up with the second best4 ,so
 we may say that the action of the  law 
of evolution1 which if left to itself   
would do the very best possible  for    
every man1 is restrained by the man's   
own previous actions4    ,an important  
feature in that limitation--one which   
may act most powerfully  for good or for
 evil--is the influence of the group of 
egos with which the  man has made       
definite links in the past--those with  
whom he has formed  strong ties of love 
or hate1 of helping or of injury--those 
souls whom he  must meet again because  
of connections made with them in days of
 long ago4  ,his relation with them is a
 factor which must be taken into        
consideration  before it can be         
determined where and how he shall be    

reborn4    ,the ,will of the ,deity is  
man's evolution4 ,the effort of that    
nature which  is an expression of the   
,deity is to give the man whatever is   
most suitable  for that evolution2 but  
this is conditioned by the man's deserts
 in the  past and by the links which he 
has already formed4 ,it may be assumed  
that a  man descending into incarnation 
could learn the lessons necessary for   
that  life in any one of a hundred      
positions4 ,from half of these or more  
than  half he may be debarred by the    
consequences of some of his many and    
varied  actions in the past4 ,among the 
few possibilities which remain open to  
him1  the choice of one possibility in  
particular may be determined by the     
presence in that family or in that      
neighbourhood of other egos upon whom he
  has a claim for services rendered1 or 
to whom he in his turn owes a debt of   
love4          ,chapter ,,viii    ,,the 
,,purpose ,,of ,,life      ,to fulfil   
our duty in the divine scheme we must   

try to understand not only  that scheme 
as a whole1 but the special part that   
man is intended to play  in it4 ,the    
divine outbreathing reached its deepest 
immersion in matter in  the mineral     
kingdom1 but it reaches its ultimate    
point of differentiation  not at the    
lowest level of materiality1 but at the 
entrance into the human  kingdom on the 
upward arc of evolution4 ,we have thus  
to realize three  stages in the course  
of this evolution4    7a7 ,the downward 
arc in which the tendency is towards    
differentiation and  also towards       
greater materiality4 ,in this stage     
spirit is involving itself  in matter1  
in order that it may learn to receive   
impressions through it4    7b7 ,the     
earlier part of the upward arc1 in which
 the tendency is still  towards greater 
differentiation1 but at the same time   
towards  spiritualization and escape    
from materiality4 ,in this stage the    
spirit is  learning to dominate matter  
and to see it as an expression of       

itself4    7c7 ,the later part of the   
upward arc1 when differentiation has    
been finally  accomplished1 and the     
tendency is towards unity as well as    
towards greater  spirituality4 ,in this 
stage the spirit1 having learnt         
perfectly how to  receive impression    
through matter and how to express itself
 through it1 and  having awakened its   
dormant powers1 learns to use these     
powers rightly in  the service of the   
,deity4    ,the object of the whole     
previous evolution has been to produce  
the ego as a  manifestation of the      
,monad4 ,then the ego in its turn       
evolves by putting  itself down into a  
succession of personalities4 ,men who do
 not understand  this look upon the     
personality as the self1 and            
consequently live for it  alone1 and try
 to regulate their lives for what       
appears to be its temporary  advantage4 
,the man who understands realizes that  
the only important thing  is the life of
 the ego1 and that its progress is the  

object for which the  temporary         
personality must be used4 ,therefore    
when he has to decide between  two      
possible courses he thinks not1 as the  
ordinary man might3 ,which will  bring  
the greater pleasure and profit to me as
 a personality8 but ,which  will bring  
greater progress to me as an ego8       
,experience soon teaches him  that      
nothing can ever be really good for him1
 or for anyone1 which is not  good for  
all1 and so presently he learns to      
forget himself altogether1 and  to ask  
only what will be best for humanity as a
 whole4    ,clearly then at this stage  
of evolution whatever tends to unity1   
whatever  tends to spirituality1 is in  
accord with the plan of the ,deity for  
us1 and  is therefore right for us1     
while whatever tends to separateness or 
to  materiality is equally certainly    
wrong for us4 ,there are thoughts and   
emotions which tend to unity1 such as   
love1 sympathy1 reverence1  benevolence2
 there are others which tend to         

disunion1 such as hatred1  jealousy1    
envy1 pride1 cruelty1 fear4 ,obviously  
the former group are for us  the right1 
the latter group are for us the wrong4  
,in all these thoughts and feelings     
which are clearly wrong1 we recognize   
one dominant note1 the thought of self2 
while in all those which are  clearly   
right we recognize that the thought is  
turned toward others1 and  that the     
personal self is forgotten4 ,wherefore  
we see that selfishness is  the one     
great wrong1 and that perfect           
unselfishness is the crown of all       
virtue4 ,this gives us at once a rule of
 life4 ,the man who wishes              
intelligently to co-operate with the    
,divine ,will must lay aside all thought
  of the advantage or pleasure of the   
personal self1 and must devote himself  
exclusively to carrying out that ,will  
by working for the welfare and          
happiness of others4    ,this is a high 
ideal1 and difficult of attainment1     
because there lies  behind us such a    

long history of selfishness4 ,most of us
 are as yet far  from the purely        
altruistic attitude2 how are we to go to
 work to attain it1  lacking as we do   
the necessary intensity in so many of   
the good qualities1  and possessing so  
many which are undesirable8    ,here    
comes into operation the great law of   
cause and effect to which ,i have       
already referred4 ,just as we can       
confidently appeal to the laws of       
,nature  in the physical world1 so may  
we also appeal to these laws of the     
higher  world4 ,if we find evil         
qualities within us1 they have grown up 
by slow  degrees through ignorance and  
through self-indulgence4 ,now that the  
ignorance is dispelled by knowledge1 now
 that in consequence we recognize  the  
quality as an evil1 the method of       
getting rid of it lies obviously  before
 us4    ,for each of these vices there  
is a contrary virtue2 if we find one of 
them  rearing its head within us1 let us
 immediately determine deliberately to  

develop within ourselves the contrary   
virtue4 ,if a man realizes that in the  
past he has been selfish1 that means    
that he has set up within himself the   
habit of thinking of himself first and  
pleasing himself1 of consulting his  own
 convenience or his pleasure without due
 thought of the effect upon  others2 let
 him set to work purposefully to form   
the exactly opposite  habit1 to make a  
practice before doing anything of       
thinking how it will  affect all those  
around him2 let him set himself         
habitually to please  others1 even      
though it be at the cost of trouble or  
privation for himself4  ,this also in   
time will become a habit1 and by        
developing it he will have  killed out  
the other4    ,if a man finds himself   
full of suspicion1 ready always to      
assign evil  motives to the actions of  
those about him1 let him set himself    
steadily to  cultivate trust in his     
fellows1 to give them credit always for 
the highest  possible motives4 ,it may  

be said that a man who does this will   
lay himself  open to be deceived1 and   
that in many cases his confidence will  
be  misplaced4 ,that is a small matter2 
it is far better for him that he should 
sometimes be deceived as a result of his
 trust in his fellows than that he      
should save himself from such deception 
by maintaining a constant attitude  of  
suspicion4 ,besides1 confidence begets  
faithfulness4 ,a man who is trusted     
will generally prove himself worthy of  
the trust1 whereas a man who is         
suspected is likely presently to justify
 the suspicion4    ,if a man finds in   
himself the tendency towards avarice1   
let him go out of  his way to be        
especially generous2 if he finds himself
 irritable1 let him  definitely train   
himself in calmness2 if he finds himself
 devoured by  curiosity1 let him        
deliberately refuse again and again to  
gratify that  curiosity2 if he is liable
 to fits of depression1 let him         
persistently  cultivate cheerfulness1   

even under the most adverse             
circumstances4    ,in every case the    
existence of an evil quality in the     
personality means a  lack of the        
corresponding good quality in the ego4  
,the shortest way to get  rid of that   
evil and to prevent its reappearance is 
to fill the gap in the  ego1 and the    
good quality which is thus developed    
will show itself as an  integral part of
 the man's character through all his    
future lives4 ,an ego  cannot be evil1  
but he can be imperfect4 ,the qualities 
which he develops  cannot be other than 
good qualities1 and when they are well  
defined they  show themselves in each of
 all his numerous personalities1 and    
consequently  those personalities can   
never be guilty of the vices opposite to
 these  qualities2 but where there is a 
gap in the ego1 where there is a quality
  undeveloped1 there is nothing inherent
 in the personality to check the  growth
 of the opposite vice2 and since others 
in the world about him  already possess 

that vice1 and man is an imitative      
animal1 it is quite  probable that it   
will speedily manifest itself in him4   
,this vice1 however1  belongs to the    
vehicles only and not to the man inside4
 ,in these vehicles  its repetition may 
set up a momentum which is hard to      
conquer2 but if the  ego bestirs himself
 to create in himself the opposite      
virtue1 the vice is  cut off at its     
root1 and can no longer exist--neither  
in this life nor in  all the lives that 
are to come4    ,a man who is trying to 
evolve these qualities in himself will  
find certain  obstacles in his          
way--obstacles which he must learn to   
surmount4 ,one of  these is the critical
 spirit of the age--the disposition to  
find fault with  a thing1 to belittle   
everything1 to look for faults in       
everything and  everyone4 ,the exact    
opposite of this is what is needed for  
progress4 ,he who  wishes to move       
rapidly along the path of evolution must
 learn to see good  in everything--to   

see the latent ,deity in everything and 
in everyone4 ,only  so can he help those
 other people--only so can he get the   
best out of those  other things4        
,another obstacle is the lack of        
perseverance4 ,we tend in these days to 
be  impatient2 if we try any plan we    
expect immediate results from it1 and if
  we do not get them1 we give up that   
plan and try something else4 ,that is   
not the way to make progress in         
occultism4 ,the effort which we are     
making  is to compress into one or two  
lives the evolution which would         
naturally  take perhaps a hundred lives4
 ,that is not the sort of undertaking in
 which  immediate results are to be     
expected4 ,we attempt to uproot an evil 
habit1  and we find it hard work2 why8  
,because we have indulged in that       
practice  for1 perhaps1 twenty thousand 
years2 one cannot shake off the custom  
of  twenty thousand years in a day or   
two4 ,we have allowed that habit to gain
  an enormous momentum1 and before we   

can set up a force in the opposite      
direction we have to overcome that      
momentum4 ,that cannot be done in a     
moment1 but it is absolutely certain    
that it will be done eventually1 if  we 
persevere1 because the momentum1 however
 strong it may be1 is a finite          
quantity1 whereas the power that we can 
bring to bear against it is the         
infinite power of the human will1 which 
can make renewed efforts day after  day1
 year after year1 even life after life  
if necessary4    ,another great         
difficulty in our way is the lack of    
clearness in our  thought4 ,people in   
the ,west are little used to clear      
thought with regard to  religious       
matters4 ,everything is vague and       
nebulous4 ,for occult development       
vagueness and nebulosity will not do4   
,our conceptions must be clear-cut and  
our thought-images definite4 ,other     
necessary characteristics are calmness  
and cheerfulness2 these are rare in     
modern life1 but are absolute           

essentials for the work which we are    
here undertaking4    ,the process of    
building a character is as scientific as
 that of developing  one's muscles4     
,many a man1 finding himself with       
certain muscles flabby and  powerless   
takes that as his natural condition1 and
 regards their weakness  as a kind of   
destiny imposed upon him2 but anyone who
 understands a little  of the human body
 is aware that by continued exercise    
those muscles can be  brought into a    
state of health and the whole body      
eventually put in order4  ,in exactly   
the same way1 many a man finds himself  
possessed of a bad temper  or a tendency
 to avarice or suspicion or             
self-indulgence1 and when in            
consequence of any of these vices he    
commits some great mistake or does  some
 great harm he offers it as an excuse   
that he is a hasty-tempered man1  or    
that he possesses this or that quality  
by nature--implying that  therefore he  
cannot help it4    ,in this case just as

 in the other the remedy is in his own  
hands4 ,regular  exercise of the right  
kind will develop a certain muscle1 and 
regular  mental exercise of the right   
kind will develop a missing quality in a
 man's  character4 ,the ordinary man    
does not realize that he can do this1   
and even  if he sees that he can do it1 
he does not see why he should1 for it   
means  much effort and much             
self-repression4 ,he knows of no        
adequate motive for  undertaking a task 
so laborious and painful4    ,the motive
 is supplied by the knowledge of the    
truth4 ,one who gains an  intelligent   
comprehension of the direction of       
evolution feels it not only  his        
interest but his privilege and his      
delight to co-operate with it4 ,one  who
 wills the end wills also the means2 in 
order to be able to do good work  for   
the world he must develop within himself
 the necessary strength and the         
necessary qualities4 ,therefore he who  
wishes to reform the world must first   

of all reform himself4 ,he must learn to
 give up altogether the attitude of     
insisting upon rights1 and must devote  
himself utterly to the most earnest     
performance of his duties4 ,he must     
learn to regard every connection with   
his fellow-man as an opportunity to help
 that fellow-man1 or in some way to  do 
him good4    ,one who studies these     
subjects intelligently cannot but       
realize the  tremendous power of        
thought1 and the necessity for its      
efficient control4  ,all action springs 
from thought1 for even when it is done  
7as we say7  without thought1 it is the 
instinctive expression of the thoughts1 
desires  and feelings which the man has 
allowed to grow luxuriantly within      
himself  in earlier days4    ,the wise  
man1 therefore1 will watch his thought  
with the greatest of care1  for in it he
 possesses a powerful instrument1 for   
the right use of which he  is           
responsible4 ,it is his duty to govern  
his thought1 lest it should be  allowed 

to run riot and to do evil to himself1  
and to others2 it is his  duty also to  
develop his thought-power1 because by   
means of it a vast  amount of actual and
 active good can be done4 ,thus         
controlling his thought  and his action1
 thus eliminating from himself all evil 
and unfolding in  himself all good      
qualities1 the man presently raises     
himself far above the  level of his     
fellows1 and stands out conspicuously   
among them as one who is  working on the
 side of good as against evil1 of       
evolution as against  stagnation4       
,the ,members of the great ,hierarchy1  
in whose hands is the evolution of the  
world1 are watching always for such men 
in order that ,they may train them  to  
help in the great work4 ,such a man     
inevitably attracts ,their attention1   
and ,they begin to use him as an        
instrument in ,their work4 ,if he proves
  himself a good and efficient          
instrument1 presently ,they will offer  
him  definite training as an apprentice1

 that by helping ,them in the           
world-business which ,they have to do he
 may some day become even as ,they  are1
 and join the mighty ,brotherhood to    
which ,they belong4    ,but for an      
honour so great as this mere ordinary   
goodness will not suffice4  ,true1 a man
 must be good first of all1 or it would 
be hopeless to think of  using him1 but 
in addition to being good he must be    
wise and strong4 ,what  is needed is not
 merely a good man1 but a great         
spiritual power4 ,not only  must the    
candidate have cast aside all ordinary  
weaknesses but he must have  acquired   
strong positive qualities before he can 
offer himself to ,them with  any hope   
that he will be accepted4 ,he must live 
no longer as a blundering  and selfish  
personality1 but as an intelligent ego  
who comprehends the part  which he has  
to play in the great scheme of the      
universe4 ,he must have  forgotten      
himself utterly2 he must have resigned  
all thought of worldly  profit or       

pleasure or advancement2 he must be     
willing to sacrifice  everything1 and   
himself first of all1 for the sake of   
the work that has to  be done4 ,he may  
be in the world1 but he must not be of  
the world4 ,he  must be careless utterly
 of its opinion4 ,for the sake of       
helping man he  must make himself       
something more than man4 ,radiant1      
rejoicing1 strong1 he  must live but for
 the sake of others and to be an        
expression of the love of  ,god in the  
world4 ,a high ideal1 yet not too high2 
possible1 because there  are men who    
have achieved it4    ,when a man has    
succeeded in unfolding his latent       
possibilities so far that  he attracts  
the attention of the ,masters of the    
,wisdom1 one of ,them will  probably    
receive him as an apprentice upon       
probation4 ,the period of  probation is 
usually seven years1 but may be either  
shortened or lengthened  at the         
discretion of the ,master4 ,at the end  
of that time1 if his work has  been     

satisfactory1 he becomes what it        
commonly called the accepted pupil4     
,this brings him into close relations   
with his ,master1 so that the           
vibrations of the latter constantly play
 upon him1 and he gradually learns  to  
look at everything as the ,master looks 
at it4 ,after yet another  interval1 if 
he proves himself entirely worthy1 he   
may be drawn into a  still closer       
relationship1 when he is called the son 
of the ,master4    ,these three stages  
mark his relationship to his own ,master
 only1 not to the  ,brotherhood as a    
whole4 ,the ,brotherhood admits a man to
 its ranks only when  he has fitted     
himself to pass the first of the great  
,initiations4    ,this entry into the   
,brotherhood of ,those who rule the     
world may be thought  of as the third of
 the great critical points in man's     
evolution4 ,the first  of these is when 
he becomes man--when he individualizes  
out of the animal  kingdom and obtains a
 causal body4 ,the second is what is    

called by the  ,christian conversion1 by
 the ,hindu the acquirement of          
discrimination1  and by the ,buddhist   
the opening of the doors of the mind4   
,that is the  point at which he realizes
 the great facts of life1 and turns away
 from the  pursuit of selfish ends in   
order to move intentionally along with  
the great  current of evolution in      
obedience to the divine ,will4 ,the     
third point is  the most important of   
all1 for the ,initiation which admits   
him to the ranks  of the ,brotherhood   
also insures him against the possibility
 of failure to  fulfil the divine       
purpose in the time appointed for it4   
,hence those who  have reached this     
point are called in the ,christian      
system the elect1 the  saved or the     
safe1 and in the ,buddhist scheme those 
who have entered  on the stream4 ,for   
those who have reached this point have  
made themselves  absolutely certain of  
reaching a further point also--that of  
,adeptship1 at  which they pass into a  

type of evolution which is definitely   
,superhuman4    ,the man who has become 
an ,adept has fulfilled the divine ,will
 so far as  this chain of worlds is     
concerned4 ,he has reached1 even already
 at the  midmost point of the on of     
evolution1 the stage prescribed for     
man's  attainment at the end of it4     
,therefore he is at liberty to spend the
  remainder of that time either in      
helping his fellow-men or in even more  
splendid work in connection with other  
and higher evolutions4 ,he who has  not 
yet been initiated is still in danger of
 being left behind by our  present wave 
of evolution1 and dropping into the next
 one--the onian  condemnation of which  
the ,christ spoke1 which has been       
mistranslated  eternal damnation4 ,it is
 from this fate of possible onian       
failure--that  is1 failure for this age1
 or dispensation1 or life-wave--that the
 man who  attains ,initiation is safe4  
,he has entered upon the stream which   
now  must bear him on to ,adeptship in  

this present age1 though it is still    
possible for him by his actions to      
hasten or delay his progress along the  
,path which he is treading4    ,that    
first ,initiation corresponds to the    
matriculation which admits a man  to a  
,university1 and the attainment of      
,adeptship to the taking of a degree  at
 the end of a course4 ,continuing the   
simile1 there are three intermediate    
examinations1 which are usually spoken  
of as the second1 third1 and fourth     
,initiations1 ,adeptship being the      
fifth4 ,a general idea of the line of   
this  higher evolution may be obtained  
by studying the list of what are called 
in  ,buddhist books the fetters which   
must be cast off--the qualities of which
  a man must rid himself as he treads   
this ,path4 ,these are3 the delusion of 
separateness2 doubt or uncertainty2     
superstition2 attachment to enjoyment2  
the possibility of hatred2 desire for   
life1 either in this or the higher      
worlds2 pride2 agitation or             

irritability2 and ignorance4 ,the man   
who  reaches the ,adept level has       
exhausted all the possibilities of moral
  development1 and so the future        
evolution which still lies before him   
can  only mean still wider knowledge and
 still more wonderful spiritual powers4 
,chapter ,,ix    ,,the ,,planetary      
,,chains      ,the scheme of evolution  
of which our ,earth forms a part is not 
the only one  in our solar system1 for  
ten separate chains of globes exist in  
that system  which are all of them      
theatres of somewhat similar progress4  
,each of these  schemes of evolution is 
taking place upon a chain of globes1 and
 in the  course of each scheme its chain
 of globes goes through seven           
incarnations4  ,the plan1 alike of each 
scheme as a whole and of the successive 
incarnation  of its chain of globes1 is 
to dip step by step more deeply into    
matter1 and  then to rise step by step  
out of it again4    ,each chain consists
 of seven globes1 and both globes and   

chains observe the  rule of descending  
into matter and then rising out of it   
again4 ,in order to  make this          
comprehensible let us take as an example
 the chain to which our  ,earth belongs4
 ,at the present time it is in its      
fourth or most material  incarnation1   
and therefore three of its globes belong
 to the physical  world1 two to the     
astral world1 and two to the lower part 
of the mental  world4 ,the wave of      
divine ,life passes in succession from  
globe to globe of  this chain1 beginning
 with one of the highest1 descending    
gradually to the  lowest and then       
climbing again to the same level as that
 at which it began4    ,let us for      
convenience of reference label the seven
 globes by the earlier  letters of the  
alphabet1 and number the incarnations in
 order4 ,thus1 as  this is the fourth   
incarnation of our chain1 the first     
globe in this  incarnation will be      
#d;,a1 the second #d;,b1 the third      
#d;,c1 the fourth 7which is  our ,earth7

 #d;,d1 and so on4    ,these globes are 
not all composed of physical matter4    
#d;,a contains no matter  lower than    
that of the mental world2 it has its    
counterpart in all the  worlds higher   
than that1 but nothing below it4 #d;,b  
exists in the astral  world2 but #d;,c  
is a physical globe1 visible to our     
telescopes1 and is in  fact the planet  
which we know as ,mars4 ,globe #d;,d is 
our own ,earth1 on which  the life-wave 
of the chain is at present in action4   
,globe #d;,e is the planet  which we    
call ,mercury--also in the physical     
world4 ,globe #d;,f is in the  astral   
world1 corresponding on the ascending   
arc to globe #d;,b in the  descent2     
while globe #d;,g corresponds to globe  
#d;,a in having its lowest              
manifestation in the lower part of the  
mental world4 ,thus it will be seen     
that we have a scheme of globes starting
 in the lower mental world1  dipping    
through the astral into the physical and
 then rising into the lower  mental     

through the astral again4    ,just as   
the succession of the globes in a chain 
constitutes a descent into  matter and  
an ascent from it again1 so do the      
successive incarnations of a  chain4 ,we
 have described the condition of affairs
 in the fourth  incarnation2 looking    
back at the third1 we find that that    
commences not on  the lower level of the
 mental world but on the higher4 ,globes
 #c;,a and #c;,g1  then1 are both of    
higher mental matter1 while globes #c;,b
 and #c;,f are at the  lower mental     
level4 ,globes #c;,c and #c;,e belong to
 the astral world1 and only  globe #c;,d
 is visible in the physical world4      
,although this third incarnation  of our
 chain is long past1 the corpse of this 
physical globe #c;,d is still  visible  
to us in the shape of that dead planet  
the ,moon1 whence that third            
incarnation is usually called the lunar 
chain4    ,the fifth incarnation of our 
chain1 which still lies very far in the 
future1 will correspond to the third4   

,in that1 globes #e;,a and #e;,g will be
  built of higher mental matter1 globes 
#e;,b and #e;,f of lower mental1 globes 
#e;,c  and #e;,e of astral matter1 and  
only globe #e;,d will be in the physical
 world4  ,this planet #e;,d is of course
 not yet in existence4    ,the other    
incarnations of the chain follow the    
same general rule of  gradually         
decreasing materiality2 #b;,a1 #b;,g1   
#f;,a and #f;,g are all in the          
intuitional world2 #b;,b1 #b;,f1 #f;,b  
and #f;,f are all in the higher part of 
the  mental world2 #b;,c1 #b;,e1 #f;,c  
and #f;,e are in the lower part of the  
mental world2  #b;,d and #f;,d are in   
the astral world4 ,in the same way      
#a;,a1 #a;,g1 #g;,a and #g;,g belong  to
 the spiritual world2 #a;,b1 ,,if1 #g;,b
 and #g;,f are in the intuitional world2
 #a;,c1  #a;,e1 #g;,c and #g;,e are in  
the higher part of the mental world2    
#a;,d-and #g;,d are in  the lower part  
of the mental world4    ,thus it will be
 seen that not only does the life-wave  

in passing through  one chain of globes 
dip down into matter and rise out of it 
again1 but the  chain itself in its     
successive incarnations does exactly the
 same thing4    ,there are ten schemes  
of evolution at present existing in our 
solar system1  but only seven of them   
are at the stage where they have planets
 in the  physical world4 ,these are3    
7#a7 that of an unrecognized planet     
,vulcan1 very  near the sun1 about which
 we have very little definite           
information4 ,it was  seen by the       
astronomer ,herschel1 but is now said to
 have disappeared4 ,we at  first        
understood that it was in its third     
incarnation2 but it is now  regarded as 
possible that it has recently passed    
from its fifth to its  sixth chain1     
which would account for its alleged     
disappearance2 7#b7 that of  ,venus1    
which is in its fifth incarnation1 and  
also therefore1 has only one  visible   
globe2 7#c7 that of the ,earth1 ,mars   
and ,mercury1 which has three  visible  

planets because it is in its fourth     
incarnation2 7#d7 that of  ,jupiter1    
7#e7 that of ,saturn1 7#f7 that of      
,uranus1 all in their third             
incarnations2 and 7#g7 that of ,neptune 
and the two unnamed planets beyond  its 
orbit1 which is in its fourth           
incarnation1 and therefore has three    
physical planets as we have4    ,in each
 incarnation of a chain 7commonly called
 a chain-period7 the wave of  divine    
,life moves seven times round the chain 
of seven planets1 and each  such        
movement is spoken of as a round4 ,the  
time that the life-wave stays  upon each
 planet is known as a world-period1 and 
in the course of a  world-period there  
are seven great root-races4 ,as has been
 previously  explained1 these are       
subdivided into sub-races1 and those    
again into  branch-races4 ,for          
convenience of reference we may state   
this in tabular  form3    #g            
,branch-,races           make   #a      
,sub-,race  #g ,sub-,races              

make   #a  ,root-,race  #g ,root-,races 
make   #a  ,world-,period  #g           
,world-,periods          make   #a      
,round  #g ,rounds                 make 
#a  ,chain-,period  #g ,chain-,periods  
make   #a  ,scheme of ,evolution  #aj   
,schemes of ,evolution  make   #a  ,our 
,solar ,system    ,it is clear that the 
fourth root-race of the fourth globe of 
the fourth  round of a fourth           
chain-period would be the central point 
of a whole scheme  of evolution1 and we 
find ourselves at the present moment    
only a little  past that point4 ,the    
,aryan race1 to which we belong1 is the 
fifth root-race  of the fourth globe1 so
 that the actual middle point fell in   
the time of  the last great root-race1  
the ,atlantean4 ,consequently the human 
race as a  whole is very little more    
than half-way through its evolution1 and
 those  few souls who are already       
nearing ,adeptship1 which is the end and
 crown of  this evolution1 are very far 
in advance of their fellows4    ,how do 

they come to be so far in advance8      
,partly and in some cases because  they 
have worked harder1 but usually because 
they are older egos--because  they were 
individualized out of the animal kingdom
 at an earlier date1 and  so have had   
more time for the human part of their   
evolution4    ,any given wave of life   
sent forth from the ,deity usually      
spends a  chain-period in each of the   
great kingdoms of ,nature4 ,that which  
in our  first chain was ensouling the   
first elemental kingdom must have       
ensouled  the second of those kingdoms  
in the second chain1 in the third of    
them in  the ,moon-chain1 and is now in 
the mineral kingdom in the fourth chain4
 ,in  the future fifth chain it will    
ensoul the vegetable kingdom1 in the    
sixth  the animal1 and in the seventh it
 will attain humanity4    ,from this it 
follows that we ourselves represented   
the mineral kingdom on  the first chain1
 the vegetable on the second1 and the   
animal on the lunar  chain4 ,there some 

of us attained our individualization1   
and so we were  enabled to enter this   
,earth-chain as men4 ,others who were a 
little more  backward did not succeed in
 attaining it1 and so had to be born    
into this  chain as animals for a while 
before they could reach humanity4       
,not all of mankind1 however1 entered   
this chain together4 ,when the lunar    
chain came to its end the humanity upon 
it stood at various levels4 ,not        
,adeptship1 but what is now for us the  
fourth step on the ,path1 was the goal  
appointed for that chain4 ,those who had
 attained it 7commonly called in        
,theosophical literature the ,lords of  
the ,moon7 had1 as is usual1 seven      
choices before them as to the way in    
which they would serve4 ,only one of    
those choices brought them1 or rather a 
few of them1 over into this             
,earth-chain to act as guides and       
teachers to the earlier races4 ,a       
considerable proportion--a vast         
proportion1 indeed--of the ,moon-men had

 not  attained that level1 and          
consequently had to reappear in this    
,earth-chain  as humanity4 ,besides     
this1 a great mass of the animal kingdom
 of the  ,moon-chain was surging up to  
the level of the individualization1 and 
some  of its members had already reached
 it1 while many others had not4 ,these  
latter needed further animal            
incarnations upon the ,earth-chain1 and 
for the  moment may be put aside4       
,there were many classes even among the 
humanity1 and the manner in which  these
 distributed themselves over the        
,earth-chain needs some explanation4    
,it is the general rule that those who  
have attained the highest possible in   
any chain on any globe1 in any          
root-race1 are not born into the        
beginning  of the next chain1 globe or  
race1 respectively4 ,the earlier stages 
are  always for the backward entities1  
and only when they have already passed  
through a good deal of evolution and are
 beginning to approach the level of     

those others who had done better1 do the
 latter descend into incarnation  and   
join them once more4 ,that is to say1   
almost the earlier half of any  period  
of evolution1 whether it be a race1 a   
globe or a chain1 seems to be  devoted  
to bringing the backward people up to   
nearly the level of those who  have got 
on better2 then these latter also 7who1 
in the meantime1 have been  resting in  
great enjoyment in the mental world7    
descend into incarnation  along with the
 others1 and they press on together     
until the end of the  period4    ,thus  
the first of the egos from the ,moon who
 entered the ,earth-chain were  by no   
means the most advanced4 ,indeed they   
may be described as the least  advanced 
of those who had succeeded in attaining 
humanity--the animal-men4  ,coming as   
they did into a chain of new globes1    
freshly aggregated1 they had  to        
establish the forms in all the different
 kingdoms of ,nature4 ,this needs  to be
 done at the beginning of the first     

round in a new chain1 but never  after  
that2 for though the life-wave is       
centred only upon one of the seven      
globes of a chain at any given time1 yet
 life has not entirely departed  from   
the other globes4 ,at the present       
moment1 for example1 the life-wave of   
our chain is centred on this ,earth1 but
 on the other two physical globes of    
our chain1 ,mars and ,mercury1 life     
still exists4 ,there is still a         
population1 human1 animal and vegetable1
 and consequently when the  life-wave   
goes round again to either of those     
planets there will be no  necessity for 
the creation of new forms4 ,the old     
types are already there1  and all that  
will happen will be a sudden marvellous 
fecundity1 so that the  various kingdoms
 will quickly increase and multiply1 and
 make a rapidly  increasing population  
instead of a stationary one4    ,it was1
 then1 the animal-men1 the lowest class 
of human beings of the  ,moon-chain1 who
 established the forms in the first     

round of the  ,earth-chain4 ,pressing   
closely after them were the highest of  
the lunar  animal kingdom1 who were soon
 ready to occupy the forms which had    
just been  made4 ,in the second journey 
round the seven globes of the           
,earth-chain1 the  animal-men who had   
been the most backward of the lunar     
humanity were  leaders of this terrene  
humanity1 the highest of the            
moon-animals making  its less developed 
grades4 ,the same thing went on in the  
third round of the  ,earth-chain1 more  
and more of the lunar animals attaining 
individualization  and joining the human
 rank1 until in the middle of that round
 on this very  globe ,d which we call   
the ,earth1 a higher class of human     
beings--the ,second  ,order of          
,moon-men--descended into incarnation   
and at once took the lead4    ,when we  
come to the fourth1 our present round1  
we find the ,first ,order of  the       
,moon-men pouring in upon us--all the   
highest and the best of the lunar       

humanity who had only just fallen short 
of success4 ,some of those who had      
already1 even on the ,moon1 entered upon
 the ,path soon attained its end1       
became ,adepts and passed away from the 
,earth4 ,some few others who had not    
been quite so far advanced have attained
 ,adeptship only comparatively          
recently--that is1 within the last few  
thousand years1 and these are the       
,adepts of the present day4 ,we1 who    
find ourselves in the higher races of   
humanity now1 were several stages behind
 ,them1 but the opportunity lies  before
 us of following in ,their steps if we  
will4    ,the evolution of which we have
 been speaking is that of the ,ego      
himself1 of  what might be called the   
soul of man2 but at the same time there 
has been  also an evolution to the body4
 ,the forms built in the first round    
were very  different from any of which  
we know anything now4 ,properly         
speaking1 those  which were made on our 
physical earth can scarcely be called   

forms at all1  for they were constructed
 of etheric matter only1 and resembled  
vague1  drifting and almost shapeless   
clouds4 ,in the second round they were  
definitely physical1 but still shapeless
 and light enough to float about in     
currents of wind4    ,only in the third 
round did they begin to bear any kind of
 resemblance to  man as we know him     
today4 ,the very methods of reproduction
 of those  primitive forms differed from
 those of humanity today1 and far more  
resembled those which we now find only  
in very much lower types of life4  ,man 
in those early days was androgynous1 and
 a definite separation into  sexes took 
place only about the middle of the third
 round4 ,from that time  onward until   
now the shape of man has been steadily  
evolving along  definitely human lines1 
becoming smaller and more compact than  
it was1  learning to stand upright      
instead of stooping and crawling1 and   
generally  differentiating itself from  
the animal forms out of which it had    

been  evolved4    ,one curious break in 
the regularity of this evolution        
deserves mention4 ,on  this globe1 in   
this fourth round1 there was a departure
 from the  straightforward scheme of    
evolution4 ,this being the middle globe 
of a  middle round1 the midmost point of
 evolution upon it marked the last      
moment  at which it was possible for    
members of what had been the lunar      
animal  kingdom to attain               
individualization4 ,consequently a sort 
of strong effort  was made--a special   
scheme was arranged to give a final     
chance to as many  as possible4 ,the    
conditions of the first and second      
rounds were specially  reproduced in    
place of the first and second           
races--conditions of which in  the      
earlier rounds these backward egos had  
not been able fully to take  advantage4 
,now1 with the additional evolution1    
which they had undergone  during the    
third round1 some of them were able to  
take such advantage1 and  so they rushed

 in at the very last moment before the  
door was shut1 and  became just human4  
,naturally they will not reach any high 
level of human  development1 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  life4    ,our      
terrestrial evolution received a most   
valuable stimulus from the  assistance  
given to us by our sister globe1 ,venus4
 ,venus is at present in  the fifth     
incarnation of its chain1 and in the    
seventh round of that  incarnation1 so  
that its inhabitants are a whole        
chain-period and a half in  front of us 
in evolution4 ,since1 therefore1 its    
people are so much more  developed than 
ours1 it was thought desirable that     
certain ,adepts from the  ,venus        
evolution should be transferred to our  
,earth in order to assist in  the       
specially busy time just before the     
closing of the door1 in the middle  of  
the fourth root-race4    ,these august  

,beings have been called the ,lords of  
the ,flame and the  ,children of the    
,fire-mist1 and ,they have produced a   
wonderful effect upon  our evolution4   
,the intellect of which we are so proud 
is almost entirely  due to ,their       
presence1 for in the natural course of  
events the next round1  the fifth1      
should be that of intellectual          
advancement1 and in this our  present   
fourth round we should be devoting      
ourselves chiefly to the  cultivation of
 the emotions4 ,we are therefore in     
reality a long way in  advance of the   
programme marked out for us2 and such   
advance is entirely  due to the         
assistance given by these great ,lords  
of the ,flame4 ,most of ,them  stayed   
with us only through that critical      
period of our history2 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 a  height as to
 be capable of relieving their august   

,visitors4    ,the evolution lying      
before us is both of the life and of the
 form2 for in  future rounds1 while the 
egos will be steadily growing in power1 
wisdom and  love1 the physical forms    
also will be more beautiful and more    
perfect than  they have ever yet been4  
,we have in this world at the present   
time men at  widely differing stages of 
evolution1 and it is clear that there   
are vast  hosts of savages who are far  
behind the great civilized races of the 
world--so far behind that it is quite   
impossible that they can overtake  them4
 ,later on in the course of our         
evolution a point will be reached at    
which it is no longer possible for those
 undeveloped souls to advance side  by  
side with the others1 so that it will be
 necessary that a division  should be   
made4    ,the proceeding is exactly     
analogous to the sorting out by a       
schoolmaster of  the boys in his class4 
,during the school year he has to       
prepare his boys  for a certain         

examination1 and by perhaps the middle  
of that school year he  knows quite well
 which of them will pass it4 ,if he     
should have in his class  some who are  
hopelessly behind the rest1 he might    
reasonably say to them  when the middle 
period was reached3    ,it is quite     
useless for you to continue with your   
fellows1 for the more  difficult lessons
 which ,i shall now have to give will be
 entirely  unintelligible to you4 ,it is
 impossible that you can learn enough in
 the  time to pass the examination1 so  
that the effort would only be a useless 
strain for you1 and meantime you would  
be a hindrance to the rest of the       
class4 ,it is therefore far better for  
you to give up striving after the       
impossible1 and to take up again the    
work of the lower class which you did   
not do perfectly1 and then to offer     
yourselves for this examination along   
with next year's class1 for what is now 
impossible for you will then be  easy4  
,this is in effect exactly what is said 

at a certain stage in our future        
evolution1 to the most backward egos4   
,they drop out of this year's class  and
 come along with the next one4 ,this is 
the onian condemnation to  which        
reference was made a little while ago4  
,it is computed that about  two-fifths  
of humanity will drop out of the class  
in this way1 leaving the  remaining     
three-fifths to go on with far greater  
rapidity to the glorious  destinies     
which lie before them4          ,chapter
 ,x    ,,the ,,result ,,of              
,,theosophical ,,study      ,members of 
the ,theosophical ,society study these  
truths and ,theosophists  endeavour to  
live them4 ,what manner of man then is  
the true ,theosophist in  consequence of
 his knowledge8 ,what is the result in  
his daily life of all  this study8      
,finding that there is a ,supreme ,power
 who is directing the course of         
evolution1 and that ,he is all-wise and 
all-loving1 the ,theosophist sees  that 
everything which exists within this     

scheme must be intended to further  its 
progress4 ,he realizes that the         
scripture which tells us that all things
  are working together for good1 is not 
indulging in a flight of poetic fancy   
or voicing a pious hope1 but stating a  
scientific fact4 ,the final  attainment 
of unspeakable glory is an absolute     
certainty for every son of  man1        
whatever may be his present condition2  
but that is by no means all4  ,here and 
at this present moment he is on his way 
towards the glory2 and all  the         
circumstances surrounding him are       
intended to help and not to hinder  him1
 if only they are rightly understood4   
,it is sadly true that in the  world    
there is much of evil and of sorrow and 
of suffering2 yet from the  higher point
 of view the ,theosophist sees that     
terrible though this be1 it  is only    
temporary and superficial1 and is all   
being utilized as a factor in  the      
progress4    ,when in the days of his   
ignorance he looked at it from its own  

level it was  almost impossible to see  
this2 while he looked from beneath at   
the under  side of life1 with his eyes  
fixed all the time upon some apparent   
evil1 he  could never gain a true grasp 
of its meaning4 ,now he raises himself  
above  it to the higher levels of       
thought and consciousness1 and looks    
down upon  it with the eye of the spirit
 and understands it in its entirety1 so 
he can  see that in very truth all is   
well--not that all will be well at some 
remote period1 but that even now at this
 moment1 in the midst of incessant      
striving and apparent evil1 the mighty  
current of evolution is still  flowing1 
and so all is well because all is moving
 on in perfect order  towards the final 
goal4    ,raising his consciousness thus
 above the storm and stress of worldly  
life1  he recognizes what used to seem  
to be evil1 and notes how it is         
apparently  pressing backwards against  
the great stream of progress2 but he    
also sees  that the onward sweep of the 

divine law of evolution bears the same  
relation to this superficial evil as    
does the tremendous torrent of ,niagara 
to the fleckings of foam upon its       
surface4 ,so while he sympathizes deeply
  with all who suffer1 he yet realizes  
what will be the end of that  suffering1
 and so for him despair or hopelessness 
is impossible4 ,he applies  this        
consideration to his own sorrows and    
troubles1 as well as to those of  the   
world1 and therefore one great result of
 his ,theosophy is a perfect            
serenity--even more than that1 a        
perpetual cheerfulness and joy4    ,for 
him there is an utter absence of worry1 
because in truth there is  nothing left 
to worry about1 since he knows that all 
must be well4 ,his  higher ,science     
makes him a confirmed optimist1 for it  
shows him that  whatever of evil there  
may be in any person or in any movement1
 it is of  necessity temporary1 because 
it is opposed to the resistless stream  
of  evolution2 whereas whatever is good 

in any person or in any movement must   
necessarily be persistent and useful1   
because it has behind it the            
omnipotence of that current1 and        
therefore it must abide and it must     
prevail4    ,yet it must not for a      
moment be supposed that because he is so
 fully  assured of the final triumph of 
good he remains careless or unmoved by  
the  evils which exist in the world     
around him4 ,he knows that it is his    
duty to  combat these to the utmost of  
his power1 because in doing this he is  
working upon the side of the great      
evolutionary force1 and is bringing     
nearer the time of its ultimate victory4
 ,none will be more active than he  in  
labouring for the good1 even though he  
is absolutely free from the  feeling of 
helplessness and hopelessness which so  
often oppresses those who  are striving 
to help their fellow-men4    ,another   
most valuable result of his             
,theosophical study is the absence of   
fear4 ,many people are constantly       

anxious or worried about something or   
other2 they are fearing lest this or    
that should happen to them1 lest this   
or that combination may fail1 and so all
 the while they are in a condition  of  
unrest2 and most serious of all for many
 is the fear of death4 ,for the         
,theosophist the whole of this feeling  
is entirely swept away4 ,he realizes    
the great truth of reincarnation4 ,he   
knows that he has often before laid     
aside physical bodies1 and so he sees   
that death is no more than  sleep--that 
just as sleep comes in between our days 
of work and gives us  rest and          
refreshment1 so between these days of   
labour here on earth1 which  we call    
lives1 there comes a long night of      
astral and of heavenly life to  give us 
rest and refreshment and to help us on  
our way4    ,to the ,theosophist death  
is simply the laying aside for a time of
 this robe  of flesh4 ,he knows that it 
is his duty to preserve the bodily      
vesture as  long as possible1 and gain  

through it all the experience he can2   
but when  the time comes for him to lay 
it down he will do so thankfully1       
because he  knows that the next stage   
will be a much pleasanter one than this4
 ,thus he  will have no fear of death1  
although he realizes that he must live  
his life  to the appointed end1 because 
he is here for the purpose of progress1 
and  that progress is the one truly     
momentous matter4 ,his whole conception 
of  life is different2 the object is not
 to earn so much money1 not to obtain   
such and such a position2 the one       
important thing is to carry out the     
divine plan4 ,he knows that for this he 
is here1 and that everything else  must 
give way to it4    ,utterly free also is
 he from any religious fears or worries 
or troubles4  ,all such things are swept
 aside for him1 because he sees clearly 
that  progress towards the highest is   
the divine ,will for us1 that we cannot 
escape from that progress1 and that     
whatever comes in our way and whatever  

happens to us is meant to help us along 
that line2 that we ourselves are        
absolutely the only people who can delay
 our advance4 ,no longer does he        
trouble and fear about himself4 ,he     
simply goes on and does the duty which  
comes nearest in the best way that he   
can1 confident that if he does this  all
 will be well for him without his       
perpetual worrying4 ,he is satisfied    
quietly to do his work and to try to    
help his fellows in the race1 knowing   
that the great divine ,power behind will
 press him onward slowly and  steadily1 
and do for him all that can be done1 so 
long as his face is set  steadfastly in 
the right direction1 so long as he does 
all that he  reasonably can4    ,since  
he knows that we are all part of one    
great evolution and all  literally the  
children of one ,father1 he sees that   
the universal  brotherhood of humanity  
is no mere poetical conception1 but a   
definite  fact2 not a dream of something
 which is to be in the dim distance of  

,utopia1 but a condition existing here  
and now4 ,the certainty of this         
all-embracing fraternity gives him a    
wider outlook upon life and a broad     
impersonal point of view from which to  
regard everything4 ,he realizes that    
the true interests of all are in fact   
identical1 and that no man can ever     
make real gain for himself at the cost  
of loss or suffering to some one  else4 
,this is not to him an article of       
religious belief1 but a scientific  fact
 proved to him by his study4 ,he sees   
that since humanity is literally a      
whole1 nothing which injures one man can
 ever be really for the good of any     
other1 for the harm done influences not 
only the doer but also those who  are   
about him4    ,he knows that the only   
true advantage for him is that benefit  
which he  shares with all4 ,he sees that
 any advance which he is able to make in
 the  way of spiritual progress or      
development is something secured not for
  himself alone but for others4 ,if he  

gains knowledge or self-control1 he     
assuredly acquires much for himself1 yet
 he takes nothing away from anyone      
else1 but on the contrary he helps and  
strengthens others4 ,cognizant as he  is
 of the absolute spiritual unity of     
humanity1 he knows that1 even in this   
lower world1 no true profit can be made 
by one man which is not made in the     
name of and for the sake of humanity2   
that one man's progress must be a       
lifting of the burden of all the others2
 that one man's advance in  spiritual   
things means a very slight yet not      
imperceptible advance to  humanity as a 
whole2 that every one who bears         
suffering and sorrow nobly in  his      
struggle towards the light is lifting a 
little of the heavy load of the  sorrow 
and suffering of his brothers as well4  
,because he recognizes this brotherhood 
not merely as a hope cherished by       
despairing men1 but as a definite fact  
following in scientific series from  all
 other facts2 because he sees this as an

 absolute certainty1 his  attitude      
towards all those around him changes    
radically4 ,it becomes a  posture ever  
of helpfulness1 ever of the deepest     
sympathy1 for he sees that  nothing     
which clashes with their higher         
interests can be the right thing  for   
him to do1 or can be good for him in any
 way4    ,it naturally follows that he  
becomes filled with the widest possible 
tolerance and charity4 ,he cannot but be
 always tolerant1 because his           
philosophy shows him that it matters    
little what a man believes1 so long as  
he is a good man and true4 ,charitable  
also he must be1 because his wider      
knowledge enables him to make allowances
 for many things which the ordinary  man
 does not understand4 ,the standard of  
the ,theosophist as to right and  wrong 
is always higher than that of the less  
instructed man1 yet he is far  gentler  
than the latter in his feeling towards  
the sinner1 because he  comprehends more
 of human nature4 ,he realizes how the  

sin appeared to the  sinner at the      
moment of its commission1 and so he     
makes more allowances  than is ever made
 by the man who is ignorant of all this4
    ,he goes further than tolerance1    
charity1 sympathy2 he feels positive    
love  towards mankind1 and that leads   
him to adopt a position of watchful     
helpfulness4 ,he feels that every       
contact with others is for him an       
opportunity1 and the additional         
knowledge which his study has brought to
  him enables him to give advice or help
 in almost any case which comes  before 
him4 ,not that he is perpetually        
thrusting his opinions upon other       
people4 ,on the contrary1 he observes   
that to do this is one of the  commonest
 mistakes made by the uninstructed4 ,he 
knows that argument is a  foolish waste 
of energy1 and therefore he declines to 
argue4 ,if anyone  desires from him     
explanation or advice he is more than   
willing to give it1  yet he has no sort 
of wish to convert anyone else to his   

own way of  thinking4    ,in every      
relation of life this idea of           
helpfulness comes into play1 not  only  
with regard to his fellowmen but also in
 connection with the vast  animal       
kingdom which surrounds him4 ,units of  
this kingdom are often brought  into    
close relation with man1 and this is for
 him an opportunity of doing  something 
for them4 ,the ,theosophist recognizes  
that these are also his  brothers1 even 
though they may be younger brothers1 and
 that he owes a  fraternal duty to them 
also--so to act and so to think that his
 relation  with them shall be always for
 their good and never for their harm4   
,pre-eminently and above all1 this      
,theosophy is to him a doctrine of      
common  sense4 ,it puts before him1 as  
far as he can at present know them1 the 
facts  about ,god and man and the       
relations between them2 then he proceeds
 to take  these facts into account and  
to act in relation to them with ordinary
  reason and common sense4 ,he regulates

 his life according to the laws of      
evolution which it has taught him1 and  
this gives him a totally different      
standpoint1 and a touchstone by which to
 try everything--his own thoughts  and  
feelings1 and his own actions first of  
all1 and then those things which  come  
before him in the world outside himself4
    ,always he applies this criterion3  
,is the thing right or wrong1 does it   
help  evolution or does it hinder it8   
,if a thought or a feeling arises within
  himself1 he sees at once by this test 
whether it is one he ought to           
encourage4 ,if it be for the greatest   
good of the greatest number then all  is
 well2 if it may hinder or cause harm to
 any being in its progress1 then  it is 
evil and to be avoided4 ,exactly the    
same reason holds good if he is  called 
upon to decide with regard to anything  
outside himself4 ,if from that  point of
 view a thing be a good thing1 then he  
can conscientiously support  it2 if not1
 then it is not for him4    ,for him the

 question of personal interest does not 
come into the case at  all4 ,he thinks  
simply of the good of evolution as a    
whole4 ,this gives him a  definite      
foothold and the clear criterion1 and   
removes from him altogether  the pain of
 indecision and hesitation4 ,the ,will  
of the ,deity is man's  evolution2      
whatever therefore helps on that        
evolution must be good2  whatever stands
 in the way of it and delays it1 that   
thing must be wrong1  even though it may
 have on its side all the weight of     
public opinion and  immemorial          
tradition4    ,knowing that the true man
 is the ego and not the body1 he sees   
that it is  the life of the ego only    
which is really of moment1 and that     
everything  connected with the body must
 unhesitatingly be subordinated to those
 higher  interests4 ,he recognizes that 
this earth-life is given to him for the 
purpose of progress1 and that that      
progress is the one important thing4    
,the  real purpose of his life is the   

unfoldment of his powers as an ego1 the 
development of his character4 ,he knows 
that there must be evolvement not  only 
of the physical body but also of the    
mental nature1 of the mind and of  the  
spiritual perceptions4 ,he sees that    
nothing short of absolute  perfection is
 expected of him in connection with this
 development2 that all  power with      
regard to it is in his own hands2 that  
he has everlasting time  before him in  
which to attain this perfection1 but    
that the sooner it is  gained the       
happier and more useful will he be4     
,he recognizes his life as nothing but a
 day at school1 and his physical  body  
as a temporary vesture assumed for the  
purpose of learning through it4  ,he    
knows at once that this purpose of      
learning lessons is the only one of  any
 real importance1 and that the man who  
allows himself to be diverted  from that
 purpose by any consideration whatever  
is acting with  inconceivable stupidity4
 ,to him the life devoted exclusively to

 physical  objects1 to the acquisition  
of wealth or fame1 appears the merest   
child's-play--a senseless sacrifice of  
all that is really worth having for  the
 sake of a few moments' gratification of
 the lower part of his nature4  ,he sets
 his affection on things above and not  
on things of the earth1 not  only       
because he sees this to be the right    
course of action1 but because he        
realizes so clearly the valuelessness of
 these things of earth4 ,he always      
tries to take the higher point of view1 
for he knows that the lower is  utterly 
unreliable--that the lower desires and  
feelings gather round him  like a dense 
fog1 and make it impossible for him to  
see anything clearly  from that level4  
,whenever he finds a struggle going on  
within him he remembers that he  himself
 is the higher1 and that this which is  
the lower is not the real  self1 but    
merely an uncontrolled part of one of   
its vehicles4 ,he knows that  though he 
may fall a thousand times on the way    

towards his goal1 his reason  for trying
 to reach it remains just as strong     
after the thousandth fall as  it was in 
the beginning1 so that it would not only
 be useless but unwise  and wrong to    
give way to despondency and             
hopelessness4    ,he begins his journey 
upon the road of progress at once--not  
only because  he knows that it is far   
easier for him now than it will be if he
 leaves the  effort until later1 but    
chiefly because if he makes the         
endeavour now and  succeeds in achieving
 some progress1 if he rises thereby to  
some higher  level1 he is in a position 
to hold out a helping hand to those who 
have not  yet reached even that step on 
the ladder which he has gained4 ,in that
 way  he takes a part1 however humble it
 may be1 in the great divine work of    
evolution4    ,he knows that he has     
arrived at his present position only by 
a slow process  of growth1 and so he    
does not expect instantaneous attainment
 of  perfection4 ,he sees how inevitable

 is the great law of cause and effect1  
and that when he once grasps the working
 of that law he can use it              
intelligently in regard to mental and   
moral development1 just as in the       
physical world we can employ for our own
 assistance those laws of ,nature  the  
action of which we have learnt to       
understand4    ,understanding what death
 is1 he knows that there can be no need 
to fear it  or to mourn over it1 whether
 it comes to himself or to those whom he
 loves4  ,it has come to them all often 
before1 so there is nothing unfamiliar  
about  it4 ,he sees death simply as a   
promotion from a life which is more than
 half  physical to one which is wholly  
superior1 so for himself he unfeignedly 
welcomes it2 and even when it comes to  
those whom he loves1 he recognizes  at  
once the advantage for them1 even though
 he cannot but feel a pang of  regret   
that he should be temporarily separated 
from them so far as the  physical world 
is concerned4 ,but he knows that the    

so-called dead are near  him still1 and 
that he has only to cast off for a time 
his physical body in  sleep in order to 
stand side by side with them as before4 
,he sees clearly that the world is one1 
and that the same divine laws rule  the 
whole of it1 whether it be visible or   
invisible to physical sight4 ,so  he has
 no feeling of nervousness or           
strangeness in passing from one part of 
it to another1 and no feeling of        
uncertainty as to what he will find on  
the  other side of the veil4 ,he knows  
that in that higher life there opens    
before him a splendid vista of          
opportunities both for acquiring fresh  
knowledge and for doing useful work2    
that life away from this dense body  has
 a vividness and a brilliancy to which  
all earthly enjoyment is as  nothing2   
and so through his clear knowledge and  
calm confidence the power  of the       
endless life shines out upon all those  
round him4    ,doubt as to his future is
 for him impossible1 for just as by     

looking back  on the savage he realizes 
that which he was in the past1 so by    
looking to  the greatest and wisest of  
mankind he knows what he will be in the 
future4  ,he sees an unbroken chain of  
development1 a ladder of perfection     
rising  steadily before him1 yet with   
human beings upon every step of it1 so  
that  he knows1 that those steps are    
possible for him to climb4 ,it is just  
because of the unchangeableness of the  
great law of cause and effect that  he  
finds himself able to climb that ladder1
 because since the law works  always in 
the same way1 he can depend upon it and 
he can use it1 just as he  uses the laws
 of ,nature in the physical worlds4 ,his
 knowledge of this law  brings to him a 
sense of perspective and shows him that 
if something comes  to him1 it comes    
because he has deserved it as a         
consequence of actions  which he has    
committed1 of words which he has spoken1
 of thought to which  he has given      
harbour in previous days or in earlier  

lives4 ,he comprehends  that all        
affliction is of the nature of the      
payment of a debt1 and  therefore when  
he has to meet with the troubles of life
 he takes them and  uses them as a      
lesson1 because he understands why they 
have come and is  glad of the           
opportunity which they give him to pay  
off something of his  obligation4       
,again1 and in yet another way1 does he 
take them as an opportunity1 for he     
sees that there is another side to them 
if he meets them in the right way4  ,he 
spends no time in bearing prospective   
burdens4 ,when trouble comes to him  he 
does not aggravate it by foolish        
repining but sets himself to endure so  
much of it as is inevitable1 with       
patience and with fortitude4 ,not that  
he  submits himself to it as a fatalist 
might1 for he takes adverse             
circumstances as an incentive to such   
development as may enable him to        
transcend them1 and thus out of         
long-past evil he brings forth a seed of

  future growth4 ,for in the very act of
 paying the outstanding debt he         
develops qualities of courage and       
resolution that will stand him in good  
stead through all the ages that are to  
come4    ,he is distinguishable from the
 rest of the world by his perennial     
cheerfulness1 his undaunted courage     
under difficulties1 and his ready       
sympathy and helpfulness2 yet he is at  
the same time emphatically a man who    
takes life seriously1 who recognizes    
that there is much for everyone to do   
in the world1 and that there is no time 
to waste4 ,he knows with utter          
certainty that he not only makes his own
 destiny but also gravely affects  that 
of others around him1 and thus he       
perceives how weighty a  responsibility 
attends the use of his power4    ,he    
knows that thoughts are things and that 
it is easily possible to do  great harm 
or great good by their means4 ,he knows 
that no man liveth to  himself1 for his 
every thought acts upon others as well2 

that the  vibrations which he sends     
forth from his mind and from his mental 
nature  are reproducing themselves in   
the minds and the mental natures of     
other  men1 so that he is a source      
either of mental health or of mental ill
 to all  with whom he comes in contact4 
,this at once imposes upon him a far    
higher code of social ethics than that  
which is known to the outer world1 for  
he knows that he must control not  only 
his acts and his words1 but also his    
thoughts1 since they may produce        
effects more serious and more           
far-reaching than their outward         
expression in  the physical world4 ,he  
knows that even when a man is not in the
 least  thinking of others1 he yet      
inevitably affects them for good or for 
evil4 ,in  addition to this unconscious 
action of his thought upon others he    
also  employs it consciously for good4  
,he sets currents in motion to carry    
mental  help and comfort to many a      
suffering friend1 and in this way he    

finds a  whole new world of usefulness  
opening before him4    ,he ranges       
himself ever on the side of the higher  
rather than the lower  thought1 the     
nobler rather than the baser4 ,he       
deliberately takes the  optimistic      
rather than the pessimistic view of     
everything1 the helpful1  rather than   
the cynical1 because he knows that to be
 fundamentally the true  view4 ,by      
looking continually for the good in     
everything that he may  endeavour to    
strengthen it1 by striving always to    
help and never to hinder1  he becomes   
ever of greater use to his fellow-men1  
and is thus in his small  way a         
co-worker with the splendid scheme of   
evolution4 ,he forgets himself  utterly 
and lives but for the sake of others1   
realizing himself as a part  of that    
scheme2 he also realizes the ,god within
 him1 and learns to become  ever a truer
 expression of ,him1 and thus in        
fulfilling ,god's ,will1 he is  not only
 blessed himself1 but becomes a blessing

 to all4          ,,index    ,adept1    
causal body of #de-h    further         
evolution of #ac    is on summit of     
human evolution #ac    level of #ac1    
#aai-ba    work of #aai-bj    ,adepts1  
as members of ,hierarchy #ac    first of
 ,earth #abi    from ,venus #aca-b      
,great ,brotherhood of #ab-d1 #aag-h1   
#acb    many degrees of #ac    men have 
become #ac    some are ,masters #ad     
some remain with mankind #bb    some    
take apprentices #ajj    ,adeptship1    
older egos nearing #abf    onian        
condemnation #aai-bj1 #acc    ther1     
breath1 blown into #ai    bubbles in    
#ai-bb1 #bc    density of #ai    mean   
pressure of #ai    of space #ah         
ultimate atoms formed in #ai    ,age or 
dispensation #ac    ,air1 nature spirits
 of #hd    ,ancient ,wisdom1 ,the #a    
,androgynous man #acj    ,angels1       
approach men through ceremonial #he     
guardian #ed    hosts of #aa    ,kingdom
 of #hd    of the law of cause and      
effect #ajj    ,animals1 additional     

evolution of #aca    are our younger    
brothers #ada    distinction between man
 and #dj    domestic #ch    heads of    
types of #ch    individualization of    
#ch-dj    man's emotions act on #ch     
man's thoughts act on #ch    ,moon-1    
came to ,earth chain #abh    ,moon-1    
individualize #abf1 #aca    seven types 
of #cg1 #ch    souls of #cc    ,animal  
kingdom #ca-b1 #cg1 #ada    ,animal-men 
of ,moon-chain #abg-h    ,apprentice    
upon probation #aah    ,apprentices1 to 
,masters #ad-g    accepted #aah    men  
may become #ah1 #aaf-g    qualifications
 necessary for #aaf-h    three stages of
 #aah    ,aryan root-race #aje1 #abe    
,aspects1 three1 of the ,logos #aa      
three1 of man #aa1 #da    ,astral body1 
after death #fh-ga1 #gc-e1 #ha1 #hf     
cell-life of #fe    colours of #ef-h    
disintegration of #hf    effect of      
thought on #ea-b    ego casts off #db1  
#fc    ego takes an #db1 #fa    entity  
occupying #ff-gb    is bridge to mental 
body #eh    man in his1 during sleep    

#fb1 #ga    matter of1 is in constant   
motion #gj    never fatigued #fb    no  
separate senses in #fi-gj    of animal  
#cb    of group-soul #cb    permanent   
colours of #eh    reacts on causal body 
#dg    reacts on mental body #dg        
shape of #ef1 #fa    shell around #fh1  
#gj1 #gh-hj1 #ha    simile of boiling   
water #fi-gj    size of #ef             
temptations caused by #ff-h             
vibrations of #ef-h1 #fe-g1 #ge-f       
,astral corpse #hf    counterparts      
#gb-c1 #gh-hj    entity #ff-h    shell  
#fh1 #gh-ha1 #hf-g    shell1 result of  
#gj    vitality of #hf-g    ,astral     
globe of ,earth #bf-g1 #ga-b    globe of
 ,moon #bf-g    globes of ,earth-chain  
#abb    ,astral matter1 arrangement of  
#ga-c    attracts mental matter #fj     
physical body attracts #fj    vibrations
 of #bd    ,astral sight #fh-i          
,astral world1 the appearance of #ga1   
#gh-hc    death in #hi    delights of   
#gf-h    descent of ego to #db-c        
extent of #bf-g1 #ga    inhabitants of  

#hc    the1 is the home of emotions #ga 
is the home of lower thoughts #ga       
life period in1 after death #dc1 #fd-e1 
#ha    man in1 during sleep #fb1 #gj    
man's freedom in #gc1 #gf    matter1    
simile of onion #gb    nature spirits in
 #hd    no measurement of time in #ge   
non-human inhabitants of #hd    of ,moon
 #bg    scenery of #gg1 #ha    second   
outpouring enters #cj    second         
outpouring indrawn to #ca    sections of
 #gh-hc    the sixth plane is named #bc1
 #da    the summerland of #hj           
withdrawal of ego from #hb              
,astro-mental forms #ea1 #eg            
,atlantean root-race #aje1 #abe         
,atomic matter #be    ,atoms charged    
with vitality of interpenetrating worlds
 #bj-a    physical ultimate #be         
ultimate #ai-bb    ,attainment is       
certain for all #acb    ,besant1 ,dr4 #a
    author of ,the ,ancient ,wisdom #a  
,birth of man1 factors determining      
#ajd-e    ,blavatsky1 ,h4,p4 #ad        
author of ,isis ,unveiled #ae    was a  

founder of the ,t4,s4 #ad    was an     
apprentice to a ,master #ad    ,bliss of
 the higher worlds #hi-ia    ,books1    
oriental sacred #ah    ,brain1          
connection with astral body #ei         
connection with ego #ei    connection   
with mental body #di    etheric part of 
#fb    ,branch-races #ajd-e1 #abe       
,bridges to ego #ei1 #fa                
,brotherhood1 the ,great1 of ,adepts    
#ab-d1 #aaf-i1 #acb    entry into #aai  
,great ,white1 the #ab    ,head of #ab  
,lords of the ,flame hold highest office
 in #acb    man may join in #aaf        
,brotherhood of humanity1 the universal 
#ach-i    ,bubbles in space #ai-ba      
aggregations of #ai-bb1 #bc-d    form   
material of nebula #ai    ,casual body1 
the1 abstract thoughts arouse #df       
appearance of #de-i    bad qualities do 
not affect #dg1 #eh    colours in #df-h 
composition of #de    is the vehicle of 
ego #db    life in #ie-f    mental body 
reacts upon #eh    of ,adept #de1 #dh   
of developed man #dh    of primitive man

 #df    of saint #dh    of savage #dh   
only good affects #dg1 #eh    permanent 
vehicle of ego #de    unselfish emotions
 arouse #dg    ,cause and effect1 law of
 #ajj-g    adjustment of #aja    angels 
connected with #aja    cannot be        
modified #aja    exactness of #ajj-a    
explains problems of life #ajj-a        
,cause and effect1 is universal #ajj    
simile of debts and #ajb-g    ,cell-life
 of astral body #fe    of mental body   
#fe    of physical body #fe    ,centres 
of force #fj    ,ceremonial1 angels     
approach men through #he    ,chain1 a1  
consists of seven rounds #abd           
life-wave of a #aba1 #abc-e    lunar1   
the #abc1 #abf-g    periods #abe        
,chains of globes #aba    descent of1   
into matter #aba-d    incarnation of    
#aba-e    ,character and simile of      
muscles #aad    how1 is formed #aaa-e   
,chemical elements #ba1 #bh    ,children
 of the ,fire-mist #aca    7also see    
,lords of ,flame7    ,christ1 the1      
learning the lesson of #if    spoke of  

the onian condemnation #aai1 #acc       
,church1 the angels approach men through
 #he    ,clairvoyant sight #df          
character seen by #ej    force-centres  
seen by #fj    ,colours of astral body  
#ef-h    of causal body #df-h    of     
mental body #dh    of thoughts #ed      
,consciousness1 development of #de-f    
of developed man #fb-c    states of #fd 
,corpse1 astral #hf    physical #hf     
the ,moon is a #abc    ,counterparts1   
astral #gc-d    of globes #abb          
,crookes1 ,sir ,william #bb    ,dead1   
the1 can be helped #gg-i    can continue
 studies #gg    can help their fellowmen
 #gg    communicate with living #gd     
cravings of the #ge-g    first feeling  
of #gf    friends of1 in mental world   
#ic-d    have no measurement of time #ge
    in astral world #gc-hi    in mental 
world #hi-ie    in the three sections of
 astral world #gd-e1 #gh-hc    most of1 
are happy #gf    period in astral world1
 #fd-e1 #hb    period in mental world   
#fd    relation of1 to ,earth #gc-d     

some seize other bodies #hh             
thought-creations of #hj    what they   
see #gc    ,death1 a second #fc1 #hi    
artists after #gg    average men after  
#fd-e    character not changed by #gd   
conditions of life after #gd    cultured
 men after #fe    etheric double at #hg 
happiness after #gd1 #gf    in astral   
world #fh1 #hi    lovers of music after 
#gg    misery after #ge                 
philanthropists after #gg    primitive  
men after #fc    sensualists after #ge-f
    spiritual men after #fe    students 
of science after #gg    what is #c1 #fc1
 #acg1 #add    ,deity 7see ,solar       
,deity7    ,demons1 tempting #ec1 #fg   
,departments of the world #aa    ,devas1
 hosts of #aa   7also see ,angels7      
,discrimination #aah    ,divine ,life   
#bi    ensouls matter #bi-dj    responds
 to vibrations #cc    ,divine world1    
extent of #bf-g    first plane named    
#bc1 #da    ,door1 shutting the #aca    
,dreams #fb    ,earth1 ,adepts from     
,venus come to #aca    astral globe of  

#bf-g    -chain #aba    first men of the
 #abe-cj    nature spirits of the #he   
purpose of life on #adb    ,earth-chain1
 the #aba    animal-men build early     
forms on #abg-h    explained #aba-d     
incarnation of #abb-e    ,moon-animals  
come to #abh    ,education1 department  
of #aa-b    ,ego1 the1 assumes bodies   
#db1 #fa    bridges of to physical body 
#eh1 #fa    connection of1 with brain   
#ei    desire of1 for vivid life #ig    
drops lower bodies #dc    ensouls       
fragment of group-soul #db    fills     
mental images of himself #ic    gains   
qualities #dc    habitat of #id    is a 
part expression of ,monad #fa    is the 
manifestation of the triple ,spirit in  
man #db    life of1 in causal body #ie-g
    life of1 in lower bodies #fc-d      
lives for millions of years #ig    loses
 part of his life sometimes #hf         
object of descent of #de1 #ih    only   
good affects #dg-h1 #eh1 #aab    origin 
of #ci1 #aji    passes to mental world  
#he    remembers past lives #dd         

sheaves of #fa    sight of #de    the1  
simile of day at school and #ih         
succession of personalities of #aji     
withdraws from astral plane #hb         
,elemental kingdoms1 the three #bi-cj   
seven types of each of #cg    ,elemental
 creatures #cg    ,elements1 chemical   
#ba1 #bh    proto- #ba    ,emotions     
affect life after death #fd1 #fg-h    of
 the living react on the dead #gd       
selfish and unselfish #aaj    should be 
developed in    fourth round #aca    the
 home of the #ga    ,emotional world    
7see astral world7    ,entity1 astral   
body #ff-h    ,etheric1 bodies of early 
humanity #abi    bodies of nature       
spirits #hd    matter #be    ,etheric   
double1 the #ei    at death #hg-h       
force-centres in #fj    is a bridge #ei 
is not a vehicle #hg-h    some dead     
cling to #hh    vitality flows through  
#ei    ,evil1 is transitory #dh1 #eh1   
#ace-f    is utilized for progress #ace 
man's powers of1 are    restricted #ajb 
simile of ,niagara ,falls1 and #ace     

,evolution1 additional1 for animals #aca
    advanced state of #aca    animal    
#ca-dj    break in regularity of #acj   
central point of #abe1 #acj    early    
stages of1 for backward entities #abg   
examining scenes of early #c    is the  
,will of the ,deity #aa1 #adb    ladder 
of #ag    man restrains law of #aje     
mineral #cj-a    object of human #ii    
of human forms #abi-cj    of life #bh-dj
    other schemes of #aba1 #abc         
pressure of #ii1 #aje    resistless     
stream of #acf    scheme of1 a #cb1     
#abb-e    summit of human #ac           
super-human #ac1 #aai    ,theosophy     
explains laws of #ii    three stages of 
#ajh-i    vegetable #cj-a    ,eye-brows1
 force-centre between #fj    ,failure is
 impossible #e    ,fairies 7see         
,nature-spirits7    ',fetters' to be    
cast off #abj    ,fire-mist1 ,children  
of the #aca    ,fire1 nature-spirits of 
#hd    ,sparks of divine #aj1 #da1 #fa  
,flame1 ,lords of the #aca    ,fohat #ai
    ,forces1 the higher1 ,adepts'       

knowledge of #ad    ,force-centres #fj  
,founder of each race #aa    ,founders  
of the ,theosophical ,society #ad       
,fragment of life of the ,logos #i    of
 group-soul #ci1 #db    of the ,monad   
#fa    ,freemasonry1 angels approach men
 through #he    ,free-will #ii          
,free-will1 limitation of unbounded     
#ajb-c    ,genesis of ,elements1 ,the   
#bb    ,globe1 astral1 of ,earth #bg    
astral of1 ,moon #bg    mental #bg      
,globes1 chains of #aba    seven1 of    
,earth-chain #abb-c    ',god is ,love'  
#aj    ,word of #i    7see also ,solar  
,deity7    ,group of egos #ajf          
,group-soul1 fragment1 from1 is ensouled
 #ci-db    of domestic animals #ch-dj   
numbers of bodies attached to one #cd-g 
,spark hovers over #dj    ,group-souls  
#cf-i    seven types of #cg    simile of
 bucket of water and #cd-f    ,guardian 
angel #ed    ,head1 force-centre in #fj 
of each race #aa    of human evolution  
#aa    of religion and education #aa-b  
of the ,white ,brotherhood #ad          

,heart1 force-centre in #fj    ,heaven1 
is a state of consciousness #fd         
simile of capacity of cups and #ia-b    
varying capacities of men in #ia-b      
,hell1 non-existence of #fd1 #ga1 #gd1  
#ge    ,hierarchy1 ,the #e    controls  
the world #e1 #ac    ,head of #ad    man
 can join #ac    ,members of1 watch for 
helpers #aaf-g    ,human evolution1     
beginning of #cb-h    division of races 
of #ajd-e    the central point in #aah-i
    the half-way point of #abe    the   
summit of #ac    ,humanity1 bodies of   
early #abh-i    early1 was androgynous  
#acj    races of #aa    receives help   
from ,venus #aca    service of1 by      
thought #ec-d    spiritual unity of #aci
    ,immortal1 the soul of man #h       
,incarnations of ,earth-chain #abb-e    
,individuality1 a permanent #ci         
,individualization1 is the first        
critical point of man's life #aah    of 
animals #cg-dj    of ,moon-animals      
#abf-g1 #acj-a    ,indo-,caucasian      
root-race #aje    ,inhabitants of finer 

worlds #bf    ,initiations1 the great   
#aah1 #aai-bj    simile of university   
degrees #abj    ,instincts1 of animals  
#ce    of cell-life #fe    ,intellect is
 a fifth round development #aca         
,intelligence in man #db    ,intuition  
in man #bc1 #db    ,intuitional world1  
the #bc1 #db    extent of #bg    ,monad 
manifests in #db    second outpouring in
 #cc    third outpouring descends to    
#ci-dj    ,isis ,unveiled #ae           
,jupiter1 the planet #abd    ,king of   
the ,world1 ,the #aa    ,kingdom1 animal
 #cj-a1 #cg-i    first elemental #bi    
mineral #cj-c1 #dj    of angels #hd-e   
of nature-spirits #hd-e    second       
elemental #cj    seven types of each #ch
    third elemental #cj    vegetable    
#cj-a1 #ch    ,kingdoms of nature       
ensouled by life-waves #ch1 #abf    the 
elemental #bi-cj    the seven1 of nature
 #bh1 #ch-i    ,koilon #ah    ,ladder of
 evolution1 the #ag1 #ade    golden #if 
rungs of #ag    ,law1 the1 of evolution 
#ii1 #ajd-e    of cause and effect      

#ajj-g    ,laws1 the immutable #h       
,liberated man #e-f    ,life1 cell-     
#fe-f    conditions of1 after death #gd 
divine #bc1 #bi1 #aba    man's          
continuous #fc    the purpose of #ih-i1 
#ajh-bj    ,life-waves1 the #bh-dj      
constant-successions of #cb    ensoul   
the kingdoms of nature #cc1 #cg    of   
chains #aba-b1 #abc-e    two stages of  
#bi    ,life-wave1 the1 now centred on  
,earth #abh    period of1 in each       
kingdom #ch-i    ,logos1 the 7see ,solar
 ,deity7    ,lords of the ,flame1       
assistance given by #acb    come to     
,earth #aca    some still remain on     
,earth #acb    of the ,moon #abf        
',love1 ,god is' #aj    ,lunar-chain    
7see ,moon-chain7    ,man1 after death  
#fc-if    can kill out vices #aaj-e     
conflict of interest between1 and his   
vehicles #ff    constitution of #da-fb  
distinction between animals and #dj     
during sleep #fa-b1 #gj1 #gd    early1  
was androgynous #acj    evolves through 
different races #ajd-e    exists in     

other worlds #b-c1 #db-c    factors     
determining birth of #ajd-e    free will
 of #ii-ajj1 #ajb    has latent powers  
#b    has many lives #b-d1 #db    has   
powers of evil restricted #ajb    has   
several bodies #b-c1 #db    is always   
affecting others #ach-i1 #adg    is a   
,monad #db    is a soul #b-c    is a    
,spark of divine ,fire #da    is divine 
in origin #c    is his own law-giver #h 
is immortal #h    is influenced by his  
astral body-entity #fh    is not changed
 by death #gd    is separate from animal
 kingdom #bh    is the outcome of his   
past #dd-e    learns to use his powers  
in service #ajh-i    liberated #e-f     
makes his own destiny #adg    may be    
apprenticed to a ,master #ad-e1 #aag    
past history of #b-c    physical body   
of1 is evolved from animal forms #acj   
reaps result of his action #ajj-a       
represents mineral kingdom of first     
chain #abf    the ,triple ,spirit in #da
    the triumph of #if    three aspects 
of #aa1 #da-b    why1 does not remember 

past lives #dd    7also see primitive   
man and savages7    ,mars1 the planet   
#abb1 #abd    life exists on #abh       
,master1 son of a #aah    the #ac-g     
are ,adepts ,who take apprentices #ad   
take apprentices #ad-g1 #aag-h    the   
great knowledge of #ad    ,their world  
#ae    ,matter1 all1 is living #cj1 #fe 
astral #ae1 #bf1 #ca1 #dc1 #ea1 #ff-g   
atomic #be    different densities of    
#bj1 #be    etheric #be1 #ei            
formation of root- #ah-i                
intermingling of #ba    mental #bc1 #bg1
 #bi1 #cc1 #db    molecules of #bd-e    
power of attraction of #fj    root- #ha 
,matter1 seven types of #ba1 #bd        
starry #bd    sub-atomic #be            
sub-divisions of #bd-e    super-etheric 
#be    the senses respond to vibrations 
in #bf    ultimate #ah-ba    vibrations 
of #bd-f1 #cc1 #dd-g    whirling sphere 
of1 a #ai-ba    ,memory of nature #c    
of past lives #dd    ,men1 backward1    
drop out #acb-c    bodies of first      
,earth-chain #abi-cj    first1 of       

,earth-chain #abf-g    ,moon- #abf-i    
,mental1 globe #bf-g    globes of       
,earth-chain #abb    images of friends  
#ic-d    shell #ec1 #ia    warts #di    
7also see mental world7    ,mental body1
 the1 after death #ij-a    bridge from1 
to physical body #eh    cell-life of #fe
    composition of #dh    connection of 
brain with #di    description of #dh-i1 
#fj-a    effect of prejudice upon #di   
effect of thoughts upon #dh-ea          
expresses concrete thoughts #dh         
reacts on causal body #eh    shell #ec1 
#ia    sight of #ej-a    striations in  
#di-ej    the astral body reacts upon   
#eh    the dead are unused to #ij-a     
the ego casts aside his #dc-d1 #fc      
the ego takes a #db-c    the memory of  
#dd-e    thoughts shown as colours in   
#dh-ej    vibrations of #ej1 #ec-d      
warts on #di    ,mental matter1 globe of
 #bf-g    the causal body is built of   
#de    the mind is built of #bc         
vibrations of #bd    ,mental world1     
average life in1 after death #fd-e      

bliss of #ij    effect of higher thought
 in #ib-c    ego formed in higher #ci   
extent of #bg    formation of #bj-c     
friends of dead in #ic-d    higher      
#bi-cj1 #cc1 #ci-db    levels of #id    
lower #bi-cj    man in1 after death     
#fc-d1 #hi-ie    the fifth plane named  
#bd-da    the ,monad manifests in higher
 #db    the second outpouring descends  
to #bi-cj    wealth of #ia    ,mercury1 
the planet #abb1 #abd    life exists on 
#abh    ,mind1 the divine #ia    the1 of
 man #bc    7also see mental body7      
,mineral1 the kingdom #cj-a1 #cg1 #ajh1 
#abf    man represents1 of first chain  
#abf    seven types of #cg    the first 
out-pouring ensouls #cj    ,ministers in
 charge of departments #aa    the seven1
 of ,solar ,deity #aa    ,monad1 the1   
descent of #da    ,monad1 origin of #da1
 #fa    ,monads1 the home of human1 #bc1
 #da    ,monadic world1 the1 extent of  
#bg    man belongs to #da    the second 
plane named #bc1 #da-b    ,mongolian    
root-race #aje    ,moon1 the1 astral    

globe of #bg1 #ga    human goal on #abf 
individualization on #abe    is a corpse
 #abc    ,lords of the #abf             
,moon-animals #abf-g    individualize on
 ,earth #abh-i    ,moon-chain1          
animal-men of #abg-h    human goal on   
#abf    men of #abf    men come to      
,earth-chain #abf-i    was the third    
incarnation of our chain #abc           
,moon-men #abf-i    distribution of1 on 
,earth-chain #abf-i    first order of   
#abi    second order of #abi    some    
entered the ,path #abi    ,motive1 the1 
for self-effort #aae    ,nature1 memory 
of #c    planes of #g    seven kingdoms 
of #bh    ,nature-spirits1 are not      
individualized #hd    are sometimes seen
 by men #hd    four classes of #hd      
many wear etheric bodies #hd    the     
kingdom of #hd    where they exist #hc-d
    ,nebula1 cooling of #bb    planets  
formed from #bb    rings of #bb         
subsidiary vortices of #bb    vortex of 
#bj    ,negroid1 the1 race #aje         
,neptune1 the planet #abd    ,nerves1   

vitality flows along #ei    ,occult     
,chemistry #g    ,occult ,world1 ,the   
#a1 #ae    ,occultism1 how to progress  
in #aac-g    ,official1 pupils of great 
#aa    representing ,solar ,deity #aa   
,officials of the ,hierarchy #ac        
,olcott1 ,colonel ,h4,s4 #ad    a       
founder of ,t4,s4 #ad    ,oriental      
sacred books #ah    ,origin1 divine1 of 
man #c1 #aj1 #ci-dj    ,outpouring1 the 
first #bj-h    the second #bh-ci1 #fe   
the third #ci-dj    ,path1 the1         
conditions of #ae    fetters to be cast 
off on #aai-bj    fourth step on #abf   
,moon-men entered #abi    simile of     
mountain #e    steeper #e1 #aai-bj      
,peers of ,logos #i    ,perfect men #e  
,perseverance necessary for progress    
#aac    ,personality #fa    the purpose 
of the #aji    ,philosophy1 ,theosophy  
is a #a    ,physical body1 attracts     
astral matter #fj    cells of the #fe-f 
during sleep man leaves his #fb1 #gj    
early evolution of the #abi-cj    ego1  
drops his #dc1 #fc    ,physical body1   

ego takes a #dc1 #fa    etheric part of 
#ei-fj    future perfection of the #acb 
of first round #abi-cj    of man is     
evolved from animal forms #acj          
requirements of the #ei-fj    ,physical 
matter1 subdivisions of #be             
vibrations of #bd1 #cc    ,physical     
world1 the1 descent of ego to #db-c     
formation of #ba-c1 #bc-f    second     
outpouring enters #cj-a    seven        
sub-divisions of #be    ,pioneer1 ,the1 
,mr4 ,a4,p4 ,sinnett1 editor of #ae     
,planes of nature1 the #g    formation  
of #bj-a    investigation of #g         
naming of #da    ,planets1 formation of 
#bb    future #bj    life on other #abh 
,planetary chains #aba-cc    ,planetary 
,spirits1 the seven #aa    simile of    
ganglia and #aa    ,powers latent in man
 #b    are for use in service #aji      
observation of history by #c            
observation of other worlds by #b-c     
,prejudices shown in mental body1 #di   
,primitive man1 causal body of #df-h    
during sleep #fb    life of1 after death

 #fd    result of action of #ajb        
types of #cg    ,principle1 undying1 in 
man #h    ,probation1 apprentice upon   
#aah    period of #aah    ,promptings of
 lower nature #ff-h    ,proto-elements  
#ba    ,pupils1 accepted1 of ,master    
#aah    of ,great ,officials #aa    of  
,masters #ad-g1 #aaf-h    7see also     
apprentices7    ,purgatory is a state of
 consciousness #fd-e    ,quotations     
from1 a ,french ,scientist #ah    a     
,gnostic ,philosopher #aj    a ,master  
#ae    an ,eastern ,scripture #i    ,the
 ,occult ,world #a    ,race1 ,founder of
 each #aa    ,head of each #aa    of    
life #ii    ,races1 branch- #aje1 #abe  
man evolves through different #aje      
object of #aje    of humanity #ad       
root- #aje1 #abe-f    sub- #aje1 #abe   
,ray1 the seventh #he    ,record1       
indelible #c    ,reincarnation #db-d1   
#ig-ajg    desire of ego for #ig        
simile of days at school and #ih-i      
,theosophy explains #ii    ,religion1   
,adepts1 ,teachers of #ab    department 

of #ab    ,founders of new #aa          
,religions1 have one source #ab    start
 with basic truths #ab    the sending   
forth of #aa    ,reproduction1 early    
methods of #acj    ,reynolds1 ,prof4 ,o4
 #ah-i    ,right and wrong1 the test of 
#adb    ,roman races1 the #aje          
,root-matter #ah    ,root-races #aje1   
#abe    ,round1 a #abe    first1 differs
 from others #abh    ,rounds1           
conditions1 of early reproduced in      
fourth round #acj-a    human forms on   
first three #abh-cj    ,saturn1 rings   
of1 simile of #bb    ,savages1 causal   
bodies of #df-g1 #dh-i    during sleep  
#fb    types of #cg    ',saved1 ,the'   
#aai    ,scheme of evolution1 a #cb1    
#aba-b    central point of #abe         
,school1 of philosophy1 there is a #a   
of life1 none fail in the #ih    ,sances
 #hg    ,secret ,doctrine1 ,the #ai     
,seers can use sight of the ego #df     
,senses1 the1 of astral body #fh-i      
respond to vibrations of matter #bf     
,service1 man learns to use his powers  

in #aji    the joy of #if    ,seven1    
'bubbles' combine in powers of #bj-a1   
#bc    choices of ,lords of the ,moon   
#abg-h    degrees of density of matter  
#bd-e    force-centres in man's bodies  
#fj    globes of a chain #aba-b         
impulses of force #ai-bj    incarnations
 of chains #aba    interpenetrating     
worlds #bj1 #bb    kingdoms of nature   
#bh    life-waves #cc    ,ministers of  
,solar ,deity #aa    ,planetary ,spirits
 #aa    sub-divisions of matter #bd-e   
sub-divisions of vitality #fj    types  
of animals #cg-i    types of elemental  
creatures #cg-h    types of group-souls 
#cg-h    types of matter #ba1 #bd       
types of men #dc    types of minerals   
#cg    types of vegetables #cg          
,sexes1 separation of #acj    ,shade1   
the #hf    ,sheaves of the ego #fa      
,shell1 of astral body #fh1 #gh-hj1 #ha1
 #hf-g    of thoughts #ec1 #ia          
,sight1 astral #fh-i    clairvoyant #df 
mental #ea    of ego #df    ,simile of1 
boiling water #fi-gj    brick #be       

bucket of water #cd-e    charged battery
 #ec    cups of varying capacities #ia-b
    days at school #ig-h1 #adc    dense 
fog #adc    developing muscles #aad     
flame in a dark night #ad    ganglia #aa
    matter diffused in water #gb        
,niagara ,falls #ace    onion #gb       
overtones of musical notes #eh    path  
up mountain #e    payment of a debt     
#ajb-d    rungs of a ladder #ag         
,saturn's rings #bb    shutting a door  
#aca    sorting out school-boys #acb    
university degrees #abj    vibrations of
 a bell #ee    warts #di    ,sinnett1   
,mr4 ,a4,p4 #a1 #ae    author of ,the   
,occult ,world #a1 #ae    author of     
,esoteric ,buddhism #a1 #ae    editor of
 ,the ,pioneer #ae    ,sleep #fa-b1 #gj1
 #hg    man during #fa-b1 #gj    the    
dead are met during #gd    ,solar       
,deity1 the1 a ,being higher than #ai   
builds ,his system #i-aj1 #ai    field  
of activity of #ai    first ,aspect of  
#ci    fragment of ,life of #i-aj       
future planets of #ai    impulses of    

force of #bj-a1 #bh    is a ,trinity #aa
    ,official representing #aa    ,peers
 of #i    ,plan of #aa1 #ac    second   
,aspect of #bh1 #cb1 #fe                
,self-limitation of #aj    seven        
,ministers of #aa    seven ,planetary   
,spirits #aa    the ,king of the ,world 
represents #aa    third ,aspect of      
#bj-a1 #bh    threefold manifestation of
 #aj    ,solar plexus1 force-centre1 the
 #fj    ,solar ,system1 evolutionary    
table of #abe    formation of #ah-bg    
inhabitants of the #he    ,logos of a #i
    origin of #ai    ten chains of      
#aba-c    ,solar systems1 countless #i  
,son of ,master #aah    ,soul1 the group
 #cc-i1 #db    man is a #b1 #cc    of an
 animal #cc-d    of domestic animals    
#cg-dj    of grasses #ca    of insects  
#cg    of lions #cc-d    of man #h1 #cc1
 #ee    of reptiles #db    of trees #ca 
plant- #cc    ,world- #cc    ,space1    
between atoms #bc    ,fohat digs holes  
in #ai    the ther of #ah-i    worlds   
not separate in #b    ,sparks1 of divine

 ,fire #ci-dj1 #fa    of divine ,life   
#bc1 #bi    ,spine1 force-centre at base
 of #fj    ,spirit1 and matter #ah    in
 man #bc1 #da    the triple1 in man     
#da-b    ,spiritual world1 the extent of
 #bf-g    is the name of third plane    
#bc1 #da    ,monads descend to #da      
,spleen1 the1 vitality flows through #fj
    ,stream1 those who have entered the 
#aai    ,sub-atomic matter #be          
,sub-races of humanity #aje1 #abe       
,summerland1 the1 of astral world #hj   
,sun1 vitality comes from the #fj       
,super-etheric matter #be    ,table of  
evolution of ,solar ,system #abe        
,teachers1 authority of #af    of       
earlier races #abf    of religion #aa-b 
,tempting demons #ec1 #fg    ,test1 the1
 of right and wrong #adb    ,teutonic   
sub-race #aje    ,theosophy1 demands no 
belief #f    explains reincarnation #ii 
explains religions #g    first popular  
exposition of #a    is a philosophy #a  
is a religion #a1 #e-g    is a science  
#a1 #g    never converts #g    solves   

problems of life #d    statements of1   
based on observation #f    tells of past
 history #c    the gospel of #if    the 
great facts of #h    what1 does for us  
#acd-adh    ,theosophist1 the1          
cheerfully faces trouble #adf           
conception of life of #acg    does not  
try to convert #adj    has no fear of   
death #acg    knows the power of thought
 #adg    relation of1 to animals #ada   
sees purpose of life #adb    test of    
right and wrong of #ada    ,thought1    
abstract #df    all actions spring from 
#aaf    concrete #dh1 #ej    coupled    
with feeling #ea    -forces after death 
#fc    is a powerful instrument #aaf    
necessity for clear #aad    necessity   
for control of #aaf    prolonged #ej    
shell of #ec    ,thoughts1 are things   
#adg    as a power for good #ee    build
 forms #eb    distance no hindrance to  
#eb    effect of1 after death #fc-d1 #hj
    humanity helped by #ed-e    meaning 
of colours of #df1 #ed-g    meaning of  
shapes of #ed    on ,theosophy #ee-fj   

others affected by #ej-ea               
self-centred #ec-d    selfish and       
unselfish #aaj    transmission of #eb   
,thought-forms #ej-d    are temporary   
entities #ec    as guardian angels #ed  
as tempting demons #ec    astro-mental  
#ea1 #eg    duration of #ec-d    effect 
on others of #ea-b    move through space
 #ea    ,thought images 7see            
,thought-forms7    ,three1 ,aspects of  
the ,logos #aj-a    aspects of man #da  
critical points in man's evolution      
#aag-i    elemental kingdoms #bh-i      
great truths #h    in ,one #aj          
outpourings #bh-ci    ,persons #aj      
stages of apprenticeship #aah    stages 
of evolution #ajh-i    ,throat1 the     
force-centre in #fj    ,time1 no measure
 of1 in astral world #ge    ,trinity of 
,solar ,logos #aj    ,triple ,spirit in 
man #da-b    ,triumph1 the1 of man #if  
,trust begets trust #aaa    ,truth1 one 
in diverse forms #ab    the1 is         
obtainable #ab    ,truths1 basic1 of    
religions #ab-c    the three great #h   

,types of1 animals #cg-h    elemental   
creatures #cg    group-souls #cg    life
 #cg    matter #ba    men #cg-i         
minerals #cg    reptiles #cg            
vegetables #ch    ,ultimate atoms #ai   
physical atoms #be    root-matter #ah   
,ultra-violet light #bf-dd    ,unity1   
the1 of humanity #ach-i    what tends to
 #aji    ,universe1 the1 beginning of   
#ah    ,universes1 innumerable #i       
,universal brotherhood of humanity1 the 
#ach    ,uranium #bb    ,uranus1 the    
planet #abd    ,vegetable1 the1 kingdom 
#cj-a1 #cg-h    seven types of #cg      
,vehicles1 man's conflict of interest   
with his #ff-i    ,venus1 the planet    
#abd    ,adepts from1 come to ,earth    
#aca    stage of evolution of #aca      
,vibrations1 of astral body #ef-g1      
#fe-f1 #ge-f    of mental body #dd    of
 thought-forms #ec1 #ee    ,vibrations1 
in matter #bd1 #cc1 #ei    causal body  
affected by #dg-i    ego responds to #de
    life learns to generate #cc         
octaves of #bd    the senses respond to 

#be-f    ,vices1 belong to the vehicles 
#aab    how to kill out #aaj-e          
,vitality1 circulates along the nerves  
#ei    of astral corpse #hf             
sub-division of #ei-fj    what it is #ei
    ,vortices1 force-centres appear as  
#fj    in matter #bj    in nebular      
#ai-bb    ,vulcan1 the planet1 was seen 
by ,herschel #abd    ,warts on mental   
body #di    ,water1 nature-spirits of   
#hd    ,waves1 life- 7see life-waves7   
,wealth of the heaven world #ia         
,whirling sphere of matter #ai-ba       
vortex in #bj    ,will1 the divine #f1  
#aa    evolution is #aa1 #abj           
fulfilment of #aah    ,wisdom1 ,masters 
of the 7see ,masters7    ,word of ,god1 
the #i    ,world1 departments of the #aa
    ,king of this #aa    -period #abd   
,worlds1 bliss of the higher #hi-ij     
inhabitants of finer #be-f    man exists
 in several #b-c    of different        
densities #c    seven interpenetrating  
#bj1 #bc-d