THE SECRET DOCTRINE OF THE ROSICRUCIANS/PART 9

 

PART IX.

THE SEVENFOLD SOUL OF MAN

In the Secret Doctrine of the Rosicrucians, we find the following Seventh Aphorism:

 

The Seventh Aphorism

VII. The Soul of Man is Sevenfold, yet but One in essence; Man's Spiritual Unfoldment has as its end the Discovery of Himself beneath the Sevenfold Veil.

In this Seventh Aphorism of Creation, the Rosicrucian is directed to apply his attention to the concept of the Sevenfold Soul—One in essence—of Man; which in the figurative language of the mystic constitutes the seven veils which conceal from (yet reveal to) Man his real Self. This concept is represented by the Rosicrucians by means of the symbol of the figure of a man surrounded by seven outlined shapes—the man, himself in his essence, is represented by the blank space disclosed by the inmost outline, and each one of the "concealing but revealing veils" is represented by an outlined figure, each being but one of the series of seven. The series of outlines, be it noted, is enclosed in the circle representing the Infinite Unmanifest.

The Symbol is interpreted as follows: (1) The Infinite Unmanifest manifests itself in the Elemental Soul; (2) the Elemental Soul takes upon itself the outward form of Mineral Substance; (3) The Mineral Soul evolves from itself the Plant Soul; (4) the Plant Soul evolves from itself the Animal Soul; (5) the Animal Soul evolves from itself the Human Soul; (6) the Human Soul unfolds into the Soul of the Demi-Gods; (7) the Soul of the Demi-Gods unfolds into the Soul of the Gods; and finally, the Soul of the Gods once more is resolved into Pure Spirit, which is represented by the blank space at the centre of the symbol.

 

Figure 12. Symbol of the Sevenfold Soul

This statement will be more clearly apprehended by those who have carefully studied the preceding chapters conveying instruction concerning the Seven Planes of Consciousness, and much of the information contained in those chapters is to be taken into consideration in the study of the present chapter.

 

It will be noted that while these Seven Veils serve to conceal the Real Self—in the sense of imposing limitations and shape to it, yet at the same time it reveals the presence of Spirit by means of its outlines. The ancient teachers were wont to illustrate this concealing-revealment by means of a bit of thin gauzy drapery suspended across the space of an open door or open window into which the breeze is blowing. The drapery covers (and thus conceals) the moving wind, yet at the same time it shows a form representing the movement and presence of the wind, and thus reveals the latter. Another favorite illustration was that of an invisible hand, of itself impossible of being perceived, but upon which was placed seven gloves, one over the other. The gloves were filled, and the presence of the hand revealed; but each glove, in turn, is mistaken for the hand itself. The hand is able to feel but faintly, and to act clumsily when the gloves are all on it, but as each glove is taken off it feels more sensitively, and performs more delicate actions; but without at least one of the gloves it is not apparent at all, even to the eyes of its owner.

Let us now briefly consider each of these Veils with which Spirit is concealed, and yet revealed.

 

I. The Elemental Soul

There is only one REAL Soul, of course; and when the Rosicrucians speak of "The Elemental Soul" they mean simply the Soul clad in the garments of elemental substance—covered with the veil of elemental substance, which while concealing its real nature yet serves to reveal it in manifestation.

Following the terms of the symbol, it may be said that the Infinite Unmanifest involves itself first in the garment of Elemental Substance, or wraps itself in the veil thereof. Elemental Substance, in the sense in which the term is used by the Rosicrucians in this connection, is a very subtle, tenuous form of substance—a form of substance which may be regarded as the "ancestor" of the most subtle form of matter known to science today. It lies far back of the plane of the electrons, ions, or corpuscles of which matter (as commonly known) is composed.

The Elemental Soul, clad in the garments of Elemental Matter is the pattern upon which the ordinary physical body is built. It is the "ghost" of the physical body, and persists after the disintegration of the latter. The intelligence or consciousness manifesting in this garment of substance is quite simple and elementary, and performs merely the office of providing and sustaining a pattern or form upon which the ordinary physical body is built.

This Elemental Soul, embodied in elemental substance as stated, is that Something which to the race has been known as the "ghost," "spirit" (in this case the term "spirit" is grossly misused and inappropriate), ethereal body, "fluidic body," "double," "wraith," "doppelganger," etc. It has sometimes been called "the astral body," but this is a mistake, for what the occultists have long known as the true "astral body" is something very different.

This Elementary Soul survives the dissolution of the physical body of the individual to which it belonged, and under certain conditions and circumstances it may become visible to living persons as the "ghost" of the deceased person. When the Elementary Soul has been "sloughed off" by the higher vehicles of the Soul (after the physical "death"), and has also been released by the partial or complete disintegration of the physical body, it is really but a "shell" having the form and shape of the latter, and is almost lifeless, although held together by the cohesive forces of the fast-dying vibrations. In such cases it possesses neither intelligence nor consciousness beyond that concerned in holding its substance together, and to all intents and purposes can be regarded as nothing more than a mass of cloudy vapor assuming the form of a human being, and destined to become speedily disintegrated on its own plane.

 

II. The Mineral Soul

By the term "The Mineral Soul," the Rosicrucians seek to indicate the Soul embodied in the Mineral or Chemical Substance of which the Physical Body is composed. The concept sought to be expressed is the physical body of man considered merely in its aspect of mineral or chemical substance and their atoms—rather than in its aspect of protoplasmic, living substance (using the term "living" in its popular, rather than in its esoteric sense).

The term "Mineral" of course means "inorganic substances having a definite chemical composition; neither animal nor vegetable substances."

We need scarcely to call the attention of the student to the fact that the substance of which the physical body is composed is, itself, composed of certain chemical or mineral substances, such as oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulphur, phosphorus, iron, and other chemical elements. Cremate a body and the greater part of it will disappear as the vapor of water (composed of oxygen and hydrogen), and other gases; the remainder being composed of other chemical or mineral elements.

The physical body is built up of mineral and chemical elements transformed by the action of plant chemistry into protoplasm, and then absorbed by man as food in the form of vegetables or animal meat. The basis of all organic matter is chemical or mineral substance. Protoplasm, the basis of organic substance, vegetable or animal, was evolved from carbon—that same element which manifests as coal, diamond, graphite, etc. The physical basis of the bodies of animals and plants is solely mineral or chemical, and all such bodies are built up from the chemical material originally furnished by earth, air, and water.

The intelligence and consciousness manifested in and by the Mineral Soul is confined to that required for the purely chemical processes of the body, and the coordination and regulation of the chemical and mineral particles of which the body is composed. There are important chemical processes under way in the life of the physical body—many of them quite complicated, so complicated in fact that they cannot be reproduced or duplicated in the laboratory of man's making and operation. These important processes are under the control and direction of the Mineral Soul—of Soul embodied in the chemical and mineral substance of which the body is composed. These processes are not merely mechanical—they are the product of intelligence and consciousness, and are impossible without the presence of these mental forces.

When the physical body is discarded by the soul at "death," it proceeds to disintegrate; first the organic substances of which it is composed, i.e., the vegetable and animal organic material, become resolved into their mineral and chemical elements, and then these, in turn, become resolved into their more simple forms and conditions, and are used in supplying material for the bodies of other forms of living creatures.

 

III. The Plant Soul

By the term "The Plant Soul," the Rosicrucians seek to indicate the Soul embodied in the Vegetable Cellular Substance of which a very large proportion of the human physical body is composed. Apart from advanced scientists and advanced occultists, few realize how a great proportion of the processes of the human and animal body is really vegetable in nature. The growth of bodily tissue, of parts and organs, is distinctively vegetable in character.

Recent discoveries in the biological laboratories and in the realms of surgery have shown us that not only portions of skin and bone may be "grafted" from one body to another, and made to grow as well in the new body as in the old; not only that portions of organs may be "transplanted" in a similar way and made to grow and perform their offices; but also that portions of the human body, and organs thereof, may be removed from the original body, and made to grow and perform their offices independent of the bodily general organism. And these processes are not merely chemical—they manifest all the characteristics of purely vegetable processes.

The chief distinction between the intelligence and consciousness of Plants and Animals is that the former manifest almost entirely along the lines of instinctive or unconscious mentation, while the latter manifest in a steadily increasing degree purpositive and deliberate conscious activity. In the processes of the human body we find a large proportion of those performed clearly along the lines of the instinctive, unconscious vegetable kingdom. These processes come under the control and direction of the Plant Soul. They are performed on the Plane of Plant Consciousness just as truly as are the processes of the ordinary types of plant life. Some of these processes are very complex—but so are the processes involved in the life of the ordinary plant.

The distinction between the plane of the Plant Soul and that of the Animal Soul will become more apparent and clear as we proceed to consider the phenomena of the latter.

IV. The Animal Soul

By the term "The Animal Soul," the Rosicrucians seek to indicate the Soul embodied in the Animal Organic Substance, both in the lower animals and in man. The Animal Soul is the animating spirit, or vital spirit, manifesting in the many activities of animal life, high and low. Its intelligence and consciousness are very high in comparison to those of the Vegetable Soul, but is limited to the requirements and needs of the purely animal life. In its lower manifestations it is but little if any higher than that of the higher manifestations of the Plant Life, and in its highest manifestations it is but little if any lower than that of the lowest manifestations of the Human Soul. In fact, as we have repeatedly said in this book, the various Planes of Consciousness (and hence the powers and limits of the several Souls) blend into those on each side of them, and with which they are linked.

The Animal Soul is the seat of the purely animal desires, and in the work of developing and satisfying the same it has built up out of the substance of which it is composed, and which it has absorbed from the substances of the vegetable and mineral plane beneath it, certain complex organs and groups of organs. Its intelligence and consciousness are concerned simply with the physical well-being of their owner, the man, just as in the animal they are concerned with the physical well-being of the animal owner. Moreover, certain of the purely vegetable processes, such as nutrition, reproduction, etc., are in part taken over by the Animal Soul and additional power and complexity bestowed upon them. The desires of man which we usually refer to as "purely physical" belong to the Animal Soul. The chief desires of the Animal Soul are concerned with the offices of nutrition and reproduction, and manifest respectively as Self Preservation and Sex Desire (on the physical plane, of course), and as Love of Offspring.

In its higher phases the Animal Soul develops and manifests certain higher qualities, such as the desire for Comradeship, Companionship, Mutual Sympathy, Affection, etc., which closely resembles similar feelings and emotions in the lower animals—this because the two Planes of Consciousness are linked together and are blended one with the other.

The Animal Soul, however, never has the consciousness of "I Am"—at the most it may be conscious as "Am," but the "I" consciousness is never present in its true form.

V. The Human Soul

The Human Soul is distinguished from the Animal Soul not only by its special aptitude for intellectual reasoning, and voluntary choice and action, but also by its consciousness of itself—of the "I am I." This distinction has been fully explained in previous chapters of this book, and need not be gone into in further detail at this place. The following paragraph, however, quoted from a writer, may prove of interest in the consideration of this phase of the general subject before us. The writer says:

"Among the lower animals there is very little of what may be called Self Consciousness. In fact, the consciousness of the lowest forms of animal life is little more than mere sensation. Life in the early stages of animal life is almost automatic. The mentation is almost entirely along subconscious lines, and the mental operations are only those which are concerned with the physical life of the animal—the satisfaction of its primitive wants. After a bit, this primitive consciousness developed into what psychologists call 'simple consciousness,' which is an awareness' of outside things, and an apprehension of them as things.' But there is no self-consciousness manifested at this point. The animal does not think of its hopes and fears, its aspirations, its plans, its thoughts, and then compare them with like thoughts of others of its kind. It cannot indulge in abstract thinking, or use symbols of thought. It simply takes things for granted and asks no questions. It does not seek to find answers to perplexing general questions, for it does not know that such questions exist. With the advent of Self-Consciousness, man begins to form a conception of the 'I'. He begins to compare himself with others, and to reason about the result thereof. He takes mental stock of himself, and draws conclusions from what he finds in his mind. He begins to think for himself, to analyze, to classify, to separate, to deduce, to form judgments.

He begins to create for himself, and is no longer a mere mental automaton."

Another writer has said concerning the evolution of the consciousness of man: "For some hundreds of years, upon the general plane of self-consciousness, an ascent, to the human eye gradually, but from the point of view of cosmic evolution rapid, has been made. In a race, large-brained, walking erect, gregarious, brutal, but king of all other brutes, man in appearance but not in fact, was from the highest simple consciousness born the basic human faculty, Self Consciousness, and its twin, Language. From these and what went with these, through suffering, toil, and war; through bestiality, savagery, barbarism; through slavery, greed, effort; through conquest infinite, through defeats overwhelming, through struggle unending; through ages of aimless semi-brutal existence; through subsistence on berries and roots; through the use of the casually found stone or stick; through life in deep forests, with nuts and seeds, and on the shores of waters, with mollusks, crustaceans, and fish for food; through that greatest, perhaps, of human victories, the domestication and subjugation of fire; through the invention and art of bow and arrow; through the taming of animals and the breaking of them to labor; through the long learning which led to the cultivation of the soil; through the abode brick and the building of houses therefrom; through the smelting of metals and the slow birth of the arts which rest upon these; through the slow making of alphabets and the evolution of the written word; in short, through thousands of centuries of human life, of human aspiration, of human growth, sprang the world of men and women as it stands before us and within us today with all its achievements and possessions."

A writer on the subject of the evolution of the soul has well given the following words of warning: "The awakening of the intellect in man does not necessarily make him a better being. While it is true that the unfolding of a higher faculty gives an upward tendency to man, it is also true that some men are so closely wrapped in the folds of the animal sheath—so steeped in the material side of things—that the awakened intellect only tends to give them increased powers to gratify their low desires and inclinations. Man, if he chooses, may excel the beasts in bestiality—he may descend to depths of which the beast never would have thought. The beast is governed solely by instinct, and his actions, so prompted, are perfectly natural and proper, and the animal is not to be blamed for following the impulses of his nature. But man, in whom intellect has unfolded, knows that it is contrary to his highest nature to descend to the level of the beasts—yea, lower by far. He adds to the brute desires the cunning and intelligence which have come to him, and deliberately prostitutes his higher principles to the task of carrying out the magnified animal propensities. Very few animals abuse their desires—it is left for some men to do so. The higher the degree of intellect unfolded in a man, the greater the depths of low passions, appetites, and desires possible to him. He may actually create new brute desires, or rather, build edifices of his own upon the brute foundations.

It is unnecessary for us to state that all occultists know that such a course will bring certain consequences in its train, which will result in the soul having to spend many weary years in retracing its steps over the backward road it has trodden. Its progress has been retarded, and it will be compelled to re-travel the road to freedom, in common with the beastlike natures of undeveloped creatures whose proper state of the journey it is, having an additional burden in the shape of the horror of a consciousness of its surroundings, whereas its beast-companions have no such consciousness and suffer not therefrom. If you can imagine the feeling of a cultured, civilized man being compelled to dwell among the African Bushmen for many years, with a full recollection of his past living in civilization, you may form a faint idea of the fate in store for one who deliberately sinks his higher powers to the accomplishment of low ends and desires. But even for such a soul there is escape—in time."

The Human Soul occupies a place of great trials and struggles between two conflicting forces. On the one hand is the force of the lower animal nature, striving to pull it downward into the plane of the Animal Soul and urging him to employ his newly awakened intellectual powers on the lower plane. On the other hand is the awakening forces of the higher spiritual nature, striving to draw him upward into a consciousness of his relationship to the All, and urging him to open his intellect to the inflow of the higher vibrations of spiritual consciousness and to turn his faculties to the carrying out of the dictates of the higher portion of himself.

VI. The Soul of the Demi-Gods

As has been said in the preceding chapters of this book, the Soul of the Demi-Gods has as its distinctive and characteristic consciousness the conscious realization of its relationship to the All—to the Universal Life.

Its mental and spiritual horizon has expanded until, in its higher stages, it takes in All Life and feels itself identified therewith. All that has come to man of humanity, justice, kindness, sympathy, nobility and Human Brotherhood has come to him filtered through from this higher region of himself. Man feels sympathy for others because of his dawning sense of his relationship to, or Oneness with all the rest. With the coming of the flashes of the Cosmic Consciousness, all narrow feelings of distinction and caste fade away, and he feels the urge of Unity. Not only does he enjoy the thrill of Universal Life, but he also may suffer the World-Pain, at least until a fuller understanding of the latter comes to him.

A writer has well said of this stage of consciousness: "As man unfolds spiritually, he feels his relationship with all mankind, and he begins to love his fellow-man more and more. It hurts him to see others suffering, and when it hurts him enough he tries to do something to remedy it. As time goes on and man develops, the terrible suffering which many human beings undergo today will be impossible, for the reason that the unfolding spiritual consciousness of the race will make the pain be felt so severely by all that the race will not be able to stand it any longer, and it

will rebel and insist that matters be remedied. From the inner recesses of the soul comes a protest against the following of the lower animal nature, and, although we may put it aside for a time, it will become more and more persistent, until finally we will be forced to heed it. The struggle between the higher and lower natures has been noticed by all careful observers of the human soul, and many theories have been advanced to account for it. In former times it was taught that man was being tempted by the devil on the one hand, and helped by a guardian angel on the other hand. But, as all occultists know, the struggle is between the two elements of man's nature, not exactly warring, but each following its own line of effort, and the Ego is torn and bruised in its efforts to adjust itself.

The Ego is in a transition stage of consciousness, and the struggle is quite painful at times, but the growing soul in time rises above the attraction of the lower nature, and its dawning spiritual consciousness enables him to understand his real nature and his real place in the universe."

The same writer has said: "The higher planes of the soul are also the source of the 'inspiration' which certain poets, painters, sculptors, writers, preachers, orators, and others have received in all times and in all lands. This is the source from which the seer obtains his vision—the prophet his insight and foresight. Many have concentrated themselves upon high ideals in their work, and have received rare knowledge from this source, attributing it to beings of another world—but the inspiration came from within: it was the voice of the Higher Self speaking to the Ego."

The writer aforesaid, informs us as follows concerning the experiences of Inspiration and Illumination coming to the Ego from the regions of this Higher Self: "These experiences, of course, vary materially according to the degree of unfoldment of the individual, his previous training, his temperament, etc., but there are certain characteristics common to all.

The common features are as follows: (1) A conviction of a sense of actual being—of immortality; this apart from faith or religious conviction, and coming seemingly from a deeper source than these—it has been described as 'the faith that knows.' (2) A total slipping away of all fear and the acquirement of a feeling of trust, certainty, and confidence, which is beyond the comprehension of those who have never experienced it. (3) A feeling of universal Love which sweeps over one—a Love which includes all Life, from those near to one in the flesh to those at the furthest parts of the universe; from those whom we hold as pure and holy, to those whom we have regarded as vile, wicked, and utterly unworthy. All feelings of self-righteousness and condemnation seem to slip away, and one's love, like the light of the sun, falls upon all alike, irrespective of  their  degree of  development  or 'goodness.'  (4)  A  feeling of the utmost  bliss  and  joy,  the  memory  of  which abides  long after the actual  experience.  (5)  A  feeling  of exalted knowledge  and wisdom,  in which all  doubt  disappears  and  a  sense of  understanding the deeper meaning  of  all things  takes  its  place,  for  the  time  of  the experience  at least.  To  some these experiences  have come as  a  deep  reverent  mood  or feeling,  which took  possession  of  them  for  a time,  while others  have seemed  to be in  a  dream  and  have become conscious  of  a  spiritual uplifting  accompanied  by  a  sensation  of  being  surrounded  by  a brilliant and  all-pervading  light  or  glow.  To some,  certain  truths  have become manifest  in  the form  of  symbols,  the full  meaning of  which in  some cases have not  become apparent  until long after the  actual  experience.

"These experiences, when  they have come to one,  have left  him  in  a  new state  of  mind,  and  he has  never  been  the  same man afterward.  Although the keenness  of  the recollection  has  worn  off,  there remains  a certain memory which long afterward proves  a  source  of  comfort  and  strength to him,  especially when he  feels  faint  of faith  and  is shaken like  a  reed by the winds of  conflicting  opinions  and  speculations.  The memory of such an experience is a source of renewed  strength—a  haven  of  refuge  to which  the  weary  soul  flies for  shelter  from  the  outside world which understands  it  not.  From  the writings  of  the ancient  philosophers of all races,  from  the songs  of  the great  poets of all peoples, from the preachings of the prophets  of  all religions  and  times  we  can  gather  traces of this illumination which has come to them—this  unfoldment  of spiritual  consciousness.  One  tells the  story in  one way,  the other  in  other terms,  but  all  tell practically  the  same essential story. All  who  have recognized  this  illumination,  even  in  a faint  degree,  recognize the like experience in  the  tale,  song,  or  preaching of  another,  though centuries may  roll between  them.  It  is  the song of  the Soul,  which when  once heard is  never  forgotten.  Though it  be sounded  by the crude instruments  of  the semi-barbarous  races,  or  the finished  instruments  of  the  talented musician  of today,  its strains  are  plainly  recognized.  From  Old  Egypt comes  the song—from  India  of all  ages—from  Ancient  Greece  and Rome—from the early Christian saint—from the Quaker Friend—from the Catholic monasteries—from the Mohammedan  Mosque—from  the Chinese Philosopher—from  the legends  of  the American  Indian  hero-prophet—it  is always the  same  strain,  and it  is swelling  louder  and louder,  as  many  more are taking it  up  and  adding their  voices  or  the sounds  of  their instruments  to the grand  chorus."

The student  must  remember that  in  the experiences  noted  above,  the individual simply  has flashes,  or  period of dawning consciousness on this Sixth Plane of  Consciousness,  and  is  not  to  be  regarded  as  having entered fully  and completely into  its  manifestations, much less as having evolved into a state in  which he functions  normally  and  habitually  on this  high  plane. There are beings—once men—who have evolved  into the higher  state in  which they  function  normally and  habitually on  this  plane of  conscious  being;  but  these individuals  are no more  than  mere  men, and  have  earned  the right  to  be called  "Demi-Gods."  But,  even  as  they once were men,  so all  men  become as  they now  are  by  the unfoldment  of this  higher  region  of  Self.  These flashes  of  consciousness  from this high plane are prophetic  signs  and  messages  indicating the awakening of  the higher  faculties,  and  giving assurance  of  further growth  and  unfoldment.

In  concluding our  consideration  of  this  high plane,  let  us  glance at  the following  words  from  the  pen  of  Sir  Oliver  Lodge,  the great  English scientist,  who has  given  the  world  startling corroboration  of some important ancient truths  known  to  the  occultists and esoteric teachers; he says: "Let us  imagine,  then,  as  a working hypothesis,  that  our subliminal  self—the other  and  greater  part  of  us—is  in  touch  with another order of  existence,  and  that  it  is  occasionally able to communicate, or somehow, perhaps  unconsciously,  transmit  to  the fragment  in  the  body something of  the information  accessible to  it.  We should  then  be like  icebergs  floating in  an  ocean,  with only a  fraction exposed  to the sun  and  air  and  observation;  the rest,  by far the greater bulk, eleven-twelfths—submerged in a connecting medium,  submerged and occasionally in  subliminal  or  sub-aqueous  contact  with others,  while still the  peaks,  the  visible  bergs,  are far  separate.  Such an  iceberg, glorying in  its  crisp  solidity  and  sparkling pinnacles,  might resent attention paid to its submerged  subliminal  supporting  region,  or  to  the saline liquid  out  of  which it  arose,  and  to which in  due course it  will some day  return.  'We  feel  that we  are  greater than  we  know.'  Or,  reversing the metaphor,  we might  liken  our  present  state  to  that  of  the hulls  of  ships submerged  in  a dim  ocean  among strange  beasts,  propelled  in  a  blind manner  through space;  proud,  perhaps, of accumulating many barnacles of  decoration: only recognizing our destination by  bumping against the dock wall; and with no  cognizance  of  the  deck,  and the  cabins, and spars, and  sails,  no thought  of  the sextant  and  the compass  and  the captain, no perception  of  the lookout  on  the mast,  of  the distant  horizon,  no vision  of objects  far  ahead,  dangers  to  be avoided,  destinations  to  be reached, other  ships  to  be spoken  with by  means  other  than  by  bodily  contact—a region  of  sunshine and  cloud, of space, of  perception,  and  of  intelligence, utterly  inaccessible  to  those  parts  below the  water  line."

 

VII.  The  Soul  of the  Gods

It must be apparent to  every  careful  student that it is  practically impossible to speak  in  ordinary  terms  of  the expression  and manifestation  of  the Self  which is  known  to the  Rosicrucians  as  "The Soul of the  Gods."  It  is sufficient  for  the  purpose  to  merely indicate  its existence as  a phase of  the Ego—existing in  a  latent  state in  most individuals,  but  affording  occasional flashes of its presence  to  a  few,  and destined  to become  the normal plane of  conscious  functioning to the whole race in  the course of  spiritual  evolution.  Moreover,  on  certain planes  of  life and  being,  even  today,  there exist  beings  to  whom  this phase  of consciousness is  habitual  and  normal,  even  as  is  the  plane  of human consciousness  normal and  habitual  to  the majority of  our  race today.

To such beings, separated from the Infinite Unmanifest—the Eternal Parent—but by  the  most  tenuous  and  subtle substance serving as  the veil,  the whole process  of  the Universe must  appear  merely as  a  great moving picture show  of  shadow  forms,  magnificent phantasmagoria having apparent  substance and  form  but  having  no actual  reality when viewed  from  the  aspect of the Eternal. Such beings are, indeed, Gods as compared  with  the rest  of  living creatures.  Close up  to  the very heart  of the Eternal,  these exalted  beings  are conscious  of  the very heartthrobs  of the  Eternal  Parent.

As almost incredible as it  may seem,  however,  there are  among us on earth today certain advanced souls in whom this consciousness has already begun to  manifest  itself;  and  their number  is  growing.  Such souls have experienced an actual conscious  realization  of  the truth that  the One is  All,  and  that  other  than  the One  there is  nothing—the entire  array of  the Cosmic  Phantasmagoria  being perceived  as  Illusion,  Mirage, Maya,  Glamour,  Unreality.  Into such,  the Soul of  the Gods  is  beginning to  manifest  itself.

No more  can  be said  here on  this  particular  subject.

 

Summary

The  student must not fall  into  the  error of  supposing  that  man  really  has seven  separate  and  distinct  souls,  either  tied  together  like a  bundle of twigs,  or  else worn  as  one would  wear seven  overcoats,  one over  the other.  The  symbol  is only  figurative,  and must  not  be  construed literally. There are  not  seven  selves  in  man—but  only One Self  concealed  by seven veils,  each of  which while serving to conceal  the real  nature of  the  Self  yet serves to  disclose  the  presence and  power  thereof  to some degree.  It  is  as if seven  planes  of  variously colored  glass,  ranging from  the darkest  to the almost-transparent  and  colorless,  were to be  placed  before a brilliant light.  The darker  glass  would  almost  entirely  obscure the  Light,  though yet  revealing its  presence in  some of  its  rays;  the next  lighter  would reveal  more,  and  obscure less;  and  so  on  to the  last  in  which the obscuration  was  but  slight, and the revelation almost perfect. All illustrations  of  this  ineffable  fact  of  the Eternal  are,  by  the  very  nature of things,  imperfect,  faulty,  and misleading  if taken too  literally.

The lesson to the student is that in every man there lie concealed  the potentiality  of  Godhood,  and  stages  less  than  Godhood  though above that  of  ordinary  Manhood;  and  that  in  every man also abide the lower phases  of  manifested  existence,  even  the very lowest  of  all.  The wise man uses  the lower,  but  does  not allow the lower to use him; he maintains a positive,  masterful  mental attitude  toward  the  lower  planes  of  being, while opening himself receptively to the influences  of  the higher  planes of his Self.

In conclusion, you are asked to once  more consider  the  Seventh Aphorism: "The Soul of Man is Sevenfold, yet but One in  essence: Man's spiritual Unfoldment has as its end the  Discovery  of Himself beneath  the Seven-fold Veil."