THE THEOSOPHICAL FORUM

9-fold Universal Essence
Egyptian: Thrice Deepest Darkness
Kabbalistic: 3 modes of Ain Soph the Infinite/Boundless
Oriental: 3 hypostases fundamental aspects of Atman the Universal Self

The venerable specter of Zarathustra, lying with the spear wound in his back; and Moses, the strong man of Israel, alone in death upon the dreary hills of Moab.

The line is endless. These Masters of other days were men above creed and clan. They were nobler than those distinctions with which we separate the common aspirations of humanity. They served not idols but ideals. Theologies grew up about them, yet each was greater than the order which he founded. From the same place they all came forth. The spirit of their doctrines was identical and each finally mingled his own smaller self with the common accomplishment. Among the great teachers of humanity there was neither superiority nor inferiority. There was simply difference. This was not a difference of purpose but of method; it was not a divergence of end but of way. Hand in hand they marched down the ages. Each revered the other, for all true greatness loves greatness, and only littleness hates. That same overshadowing consciousness that had made them truly great had revealed to them not only the brotherhood of all life but, more than this, the identity of all life.

As never before, the secret doctrines of the ancients intrigue the philosophically minded. The insufficient creeds and dogmas that survived the Renaissance are fast crumbling before the crushing force of rationalism. Men who were once of different faiths are now united in the common questing of a more reasonable code of living. Though the objects of his veneration may change, man remains essentially a religious animal. He may break away from the limitations and futilities of ecclesiastical schisms, but he cannot escape from the inherent urge to venerate his Creator. Ever surrounded by irrefutable evidence of an Abiding Destiny, the thinking man is powerless to resist that dominating impulse to propitiate in some appropriate manner the mysterious Spirit abiding in the Furthermost and the Innermost.

See Jung: Modern Man in Search of a Soul, page 130.

Throughout the first ages of humanity certain divinely instituted Mysteries were the intermediaries between man and his Maker. These august institutions were the custodians of a superior learning. By this learning, the human mind was inclined toward the way of truth and understanding. But as nations verged towards materialism and the peoples of the earth ceased to venerate the Sovereign Good, these sacred schools gradually became corrupted. Those which through compromise escaped utter annihilation remained as perverse spirits to impede the very progress which they had once sponsored.

Politically we are disillusioned as to the divine right of temporal monarchs. Ecclesiastically, we are disillusioned as to the apostolic succession of the spiritual elect. Thus disheartened by the sophistry of an unenlightened age, we turn from vagaries to renew our endless search for the substance of Truth. We would follow in the footsteps of those prophets of earlier days. Those men ascended the mountain tops of wisdom. They beheld their Maker face to face in the midst of the lightnings and heard the deep rumble of his voice even above the far-flung echoes of the thunder. In his rocky cavern upon the slopes of Mount Hira, Mohammed, the Prophet of Islam, prayed that the pure religion of the first patriarchs might again be revealed to humanity. He saw humanity bowed down in sackcloth and ashes by the weight of numberless afflictions. The strong man of Arabia stretched forth his arms into the darkness. He pled with the night that the Wisdom which abides in Space might again come forth to lead men from idolatry back to the worship of that one God who is a Spirit. That God must be served in Spirit and in Truth.

Too long have we wandered in the vale of shadows, grovelling before phantoms of our own creation and worshipping ghosts and specters. Too long have we been afraid to lift our eyes to the radiant countenance of our Creator lest we be blinded by the awful light of Truth. Too long have we prostrated ourselves abjectly at the feet of gilded men, bestowing upon mortals that homage reserved for the gods alone. Too long has the shortness of our vision made gods of men and men of gods.

The darkest pages of history are those upon which are traced the record of men's faiths. In the great march of nations and beliefs, Death has ever ridden in the vanguard. Death looses upon the earth the horrors described by Milton. Men have sung their "hymns of hate" and in their hearts they have tired of gory splendor. We have had enough of the God who marches with the arms of ambition and stands upon the battlefield surrounded by the bodies of the slain. A disillusioned humanity, weary of its own mistakes, turns again in despair to the mysterious emptiness about it. This emptiness seems to be the abiding place of a mighty Spirit.

In all this panorama of confusion and error, Space alone seems capable of gentle comprehension. In extremities? ages have? seriously and individual? materially? fying Religion? when the knows the? plicates the?

The more? we gaze at? that but a small? while utterly? the essence? only enables? him with the? to accredit? god? By the? which not only? tures are but? also transient? all-pervading?

There is? to the man? who has been? calls "a sense? In an Egyptian? written that? and through? can be called? ashes of man? Eternal Reality? ment constitutes? written down? bread of the? he will never?

Sir James Jeans gives special attention to this baffling problem, but his lecture was delivered before the release of the details about Radar. Radar can traverse terrestrial fog without hindrance. There is reason to believe that a method may be found to use it to render visible the obscured portions of the universe. The suggestion that Radar will penetrate the dense clouds that cover the planets Venus and Jupiter and reveal the mysteries of their true surfaces is not too far-fetched. We have already received Radar information from the moon. This proves that the extremely short Radar waves can penetrate the reflecting layers of the earth's atmosphere and extend far out into interplanetary space.

But already we have sufficient evidence to prove that the visible universe is occupied at fairly regular intervals by separate and enormous aggregations of stars. Most of these contain approximately 150,000 million stars. These are called Galaxies, or more popularly 'Island Universes.' The Milky Way is the Galaxy in which our solar system is located. The Galaxies are so far away that only one is visible to the naked eye and it is almost too faint to be seen. When the inquirer asks if this pattern of Galaxies goes on for ever throughout endless space the astronomer declines to answer. However, further information will be available after the great 200-inch Palomar telescope with its immense space-penetrating power is completed, perhaps this year.

After describing the general structure of the universe of Galaxies, their types, and their movements, Sir James Jeans discusses a surprising fact. The new knowledge does not support a simple explanation such as the fairly regular pattern of the Galactic distribution suggests. Instead, it introduces the reader to strange and almost fantastic possibilities. One of the most unexpected is that 'Space' with all its contents may be expanding or possibly contracting! The nature of Time is also concerned. The suggestion is being made that there may be more kinds of Time than one. This is no idle fancy. It is being seriously considered by the greatest mathematicians as well as by mystics. Theosophical students will recollect the profound teachings on the illusive nature of time. These are given in The Secret Doctrine by the Masters and H. P. Blavatsky. She discussed it in a most modern way in Volume I, page 37, and Volume II, page 612. There she

APRIL, 1946

actually declares that "Space and Time are . . . they are the incognizable THAT referring to the Sanskrit term Tat, the absolute and unknowable reality," etc. This may be regarded as a definite foreshadowing of the "Space-Time Continuum" of the Relativity Theory. Yet it was written nearly sixty years ago and derived from the archaic teachings.

After describing the variety of interpretations of the evidence in regard to a possible 'expanding universe' or a 'contracting' one, Sir James Jeans makes clear a fundamental difference. He distinguishes between the description of natural phenomena and the explanation of their existence, which is their real meaning.

The frontiers of astronomical discovery are constantly widening. But, as he says, to believe "that it will be possible to think of a 'true' or absolute explanation is quite another matter. Any explanation may be quite beyond our grasp." He thinks, however, that the now diverse pictures presented by scientists will ultimately merge into one. He believes a 'true' description of the universe may be permissible. It must be understood, however, that even the 'true' description will not be easy to follow. As he says, we can no longer think in the familiar terms of "points, distances, and times." We must transform such outmoded expressions into "events, intervals, and sequences"! However similar these categories may seem to the layman, they are in fact fundamentally different. But though the technical processes by which the true description will be reached may require special preparation to understand, the prospect is reassuring to the Theosophist. It leads directly away from the materialistic interpretation toward a purely mystical, even spiritual one. This is already being demonstrated by the appearance of such books as Dr. Gustaf Strömberg's The Soul of the Universe and Sir Richard C. Tute's After Materialism — What?

This pamphlet is worth careful study. It demonstrates how free the really great scientists are from dogmatism. Sir James says that an explanation may be beyond our grasp "for ever." We may venture to suggest that "for ever" is a long time. According to the Ancient Wisdom, mankind is only in its childhood. Toward the end of the Seventh Round of Evolution, men will be as gods compared to their present state. Who shall set bounds to their knowledge?

A large, detailed engraving titled "The Ladder of Souls" serves as a central illustration. It features a complex circular diagram containing concentric rings inscribed with Hebrew lettering. This central piece is flanked by two large, ornate crosses. The cross on the left is entwined by a large serpent. The cross on the right features a central rose or floral motif. Above the central circle, a radiant sun or divine eye emits beams of light. The entire composition is framed by an elaborate border of floral and geometric patterns.

"was made in imitation of the world might be governed by an essence similarly divine."

Above the seven planetary spheres forming the ladder of the world stretches what the Hermetics called the firmament of the fixed stars. In their esoteric instructions, the Egyptians distinguished three conditions or aspects of this empyrean the highest heaven of pure light and fire. Together they referred to these as the "Thrice Deep Darkness." The highest division was the Ocean of Eternity. It diffused itself throughout all space and through it were scattered innumerable masses of ungerminated stars. This was the Schamayim the heaven of fiery-water of the Cabalists. The middle division was the Milky Way, the seed-ground of souls. The last division was composed of the fixed stars. These were 1,122 in number and were symbolized by the Syrian mystics as a circle of cherubim filled with eyes. These three departments of the empyrean are equivalent to the three divisions of AIN SOPH the Infinite or Boundless in the Cabala and the three hypostases fundamental aspects of Atman the supreme Universal Self in Oriental metaphysics. It is from this threefold firmament that the three divine constituents of the soul are derived. The lowest circle of the firmament formed the wall of heaven. This was known to the Greeks as Mount Olympus and to the Hindus as Mount Meru. In the exoteric classification of Ptolemy, the mundane sphere is divided into seven concentric circles. These are regarded as the orbits of the planets. The empyrean is not included in this list because it is in no way a part of the inferior world. It is the abode of principles and not of vehicles. Paracelsus terms it the spirit of the world. He does this to distinguish it from the seven planetary rings, which are the soul of the world, and the four elemental substances, which are the body of the world.

Enclosed within the firmament like a fruit within its rind are the concentric orbits of the planets, which the