Spiritual Inquiries: 3. The One, The Three and the Seven

[Guest guest]

Before we think about the seven planes of Nature, their constituents

and inhabitants, we need to think about the various forms and

aspects of the One God.

 

Why? Because these forms and aspects build, maintain and dissolve

the universes, their solar systems, and life forms. This One-in-all

and all-in-One aspect of God is very well known to all Hindus,

illiterate and literate.

 

Our discussions in this posting are based on the book titled

Theosophy Explained in Questions and Answers by P. Pavri.

 

Theosophy performs a comparative study of the truths of major

religions, unites them, and presents a holistic worldview which is

intuitive, logical and scientific. The investigations of Theosophy

are backed by observation using advanced psychic powers and are

mostly verifiable by people having such powers.

 

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

 

All religions aver that God is One. The One Existence who is the

centre of all life. An Omnipresent, Omnipotent, Omniscient, Eternal,

Boundless and Immutable Principle on which all speculation is

impossible. The One only without a Second. The Unmanifested Logos.

The formless, impersonal God.

 

He is the Paramatman of Hinduism. The Nirguna Brahman -- the Brahman

without attributes, remaining unmanifested.

 

He is the Boundless Space --Zarwane Akrane-- of Zoroastrianism. The

Thrice-unknown Darkness of the Greek Orphic System.

 

>From That all comes forth; to That all returns. That includes within

itself all that ever has been, is and can be. He is called That

because He is formless and unconditional. When He is formless, He

remains as the All, the Mulaprakriti, the root-matter or Koilon out

of which every form is shaped.

 

Even though He is formless, He is not still. He is Pure

Consciousness, Pure Motion, Pure Energy.

 

Universes arise out of Him, like the waves from an ocean. Universes

sink into Him, like the waves sink back. The wave is the form or

manifestation of the water underneath.

 

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

 

Yes and no. Yes because, as the Upanishad says, 'He willed: I will

multiply.' No because, He did not do it directly.

 

When He willed to multiply, out of Him came the manifested

Brahman--the Saguna Brahman, the Personal God.

 

We should understand that the manifested and unmanifested are merely

two states of Brahman. The Saguna Brahman is not a Second, but the

One in manifestation. Like a wave from the ocean.

 

Theosophy calls the Saguna Brahman the Cosmic Logos, the Supreme

Ruler of the universe. He is further described as the self-existing

One, the Root and Cause of all beings, also sometimes called

Purusha, the Supreme Spirit, the Self.

 

The One builds the universe, with a portion of Himself, manifesting

as the Supreme Spirit.

 

He then unfolds Himself into a threefold form, the three great Logoi

of cosmic evolution, the Trimurti or Trinity aspect towards the

universe of the Manifested God.

 

The seven Embodiments of His nature are then formed into the Seven

Cosmic Planetary Logoi, who are associated with the work of the

three Cosmic Logoi of the Universe.

 

Thus, the One manifests as the Trimurti or the Trinity. The Three

are His aspects and are not separate from Him. He is the sum-total

and the All of the Three. They are in Him and He is in Them all.

 

The aspect of Isvara (another name for the One) in which he creates

the world is named Brahma by the Hindus, and the Holy Ghost by the

Christians.

 

That aspect in which Isvara preserves and maintains the worlds is

named Vishnu by the Hindus, the Son by the Christians.

 

The aspect in which he dissolves the worlds when they are of no

further use is named Siva or Mahadeva by the Hindus, the Father by

the Christians.

 

There are innumerable universes, and countless solar systems in each

universe. Each solar system is energized and controlled by a mighty

Being called the Solar Logos or the Solar Deity. For our solar

system, the Solar Deity is called Savitri by the Hindus.

 

Next below the Solar Deity are the seven Solar Planetary Logoi or

the Planetary Spirits. Just as the seven Cosmic Planetary Logoi

mentioned above are the seven Embodiments of the nature of the One,

the seven Solar Planetary Logoi are the seven expressions of the

nature of the Solar Deity.

 

These seven aspects are known as the seven Prajapatis (Lords of

Creatures) in Hinduism; the seven Amesha Spentas (Immortal Holy

Ones) in Zoroastrianism; the Seven Spirits before the throne of God

in Hebrew and Christian tradition.

 

The energies of these Seven control and direct all that takes place

within the solar system. They are the rulers of the planets Vulcan,

Venus, Earth, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. (More on these

Seven Schemes of Evolution later).

 

Each of the Seven is the Head and Ruler of hierarchies of creative

entities who work under his direction in the building and sustaining

of the solar system.

 

The hierarchies include Devas (or Shining Ones or Angelic hosts)

called Adityas, Vasus, Dhyan Chohans, etc. in Oriental religions, or

Angels, Archangels, Thrones, etc. in the Christian tradition --

manifestations of the One, the innumerable ministers of the Supreme

Will.

 

Thus God manifests Himself under a triple form, a Trinity (the

Regenerator, Preserver and Creator), spoken of by the Theosophist as

the First, Second and Third Logos; the Father, Son and Holy Ghost of

the Christian; Siva, Vishnu and Brahma of the Hindu; the Kepher,

Binah and Chochmah of the Hebrew Kabbalist; Ahura, Mazda and

Ahuramazda --the Life, Wisdom and the One Existence-- of the

Zoroastrian.

 

Thus God being immanent in all, all are sharers in one Life, and

form one great Brotherhood.

 

We can now turn our thoughts to the actual building of our solar

system and the seven planes of Nature, in the next instalment.

 

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

 

Regards,

saidevo

[Guest guest]

Dear Shree Saiji my humble protrations to you just because of the thatva.

 

Pranams Bhagvan!

 

SubhamDinamAstu!

SarvamSriKrishnaArpanamastu!saidevo <saidevo (AT) (DOT) co.in> wrote:

Before we think about the seven planes of Nature, their constituents and

inhabitants, we need to think about the various forms and aspects of the One

God. Why? Because these forms and aspects build, maintain and dissolve the

universes, their solar systems, and life forms. This One-in-all and all-in-One

aspect of God is very well known to all Hindus, illiterate and literate. Our

discussions in this posting are based on the book titled Theosophy Explained in

Questions and Answers by P. Pavri. Theosophy performs a comparative study of the

truths of major religions, unites them, and presents a holistic worldview which

is intuitive, logical and scientific. The investigations of Theosophy are

backed by observation using advanced psychic powers and are mostly verifiable

by people having such powers. The One, the

Three and the Seven. Unity, Trinity and Septenary. All religions aver that God

is One. The One Existence who is the centre of all life. An Omnipresent,

Omnipotent, Omniscient, Eternal, Boundless and Immutable Principle on which all

speculation is impossible. The One only without a Second. The Unmanifested

Logos. The formless, impersonal God. He is the Paramatman of Hinduism. The

Nirguna Brahman -- the Brahman without attributes, remaining unmanifested. He

is the Boundless Space --Zarwane Akrane-- of Zoroastrianism. The Thrice-unknown

Darkness of the Greek Orphic System. From That all comes forth; to That all

returns. That includes within itself all that ever has been, is and can be. He

is called That because He is formless and unconditional. When He is formless,

He remains as the All, the Mulaprakriti, the root-matter or Koilon out of which

every form is shaped. Even though He is formless, He is not

still. He is Pure Consciousness, Pure Motion, Pure Energy. Universes arise out

of Him, like the waves from an ocean. Universes sink into Him, like the waves

sink back. The wave is the form or manifestation of the water underneath. Did

this One, the formless God build our Solar System? Yes and no. Yes because, as

the Upanishad says, 'He willed: I will multiply.' No because, He did not do it

directly. When He willed to multiply, out of Him came the manifested

Brahman--the Saguna Brahman, the Personal God. We should understand that the

manifested and unmanifested are merely two states of Brahman. The Saguna

Brahman is not a Second, but the One in manifestation. Like a wave from the

ocean. Theosophy calls the Saguna Brahman the Cosmic Logos, the Supreme Ruler

of the universe. He is further described as the self-existing One, the Root and

Cause of all beings, also sometimes called Purusha, the Supreme

Spirit, the Self. The One builds the universe, with a portion of Himself,

manifesting as the Supreme Spirit. He then unfolds Himself into a threefold

form, the three great Logoi of cosmic evolution, the Trimurti or Trinity aspect

towards the universe of the Manifested God. The seven Embodiments of His nature

are then formed into the Seven Cosmic Planetary Logoi, who are associated with

the work of the three Cosmic Logoi of the Universe. Thus, the One manifests as

the Trimurti or the Trinity. The Three are His aspects and are not separate

from Him. He is the sum-total and the All of the Three. They are in Him and He

is in Them all. The aspect of Isvara (another name for the One) in which he

creates the world is named Brahma by the Hindus, and the Holy Ghost by the

Christians. That aspect in which Isvara preserves and maintains the worlds is

named Vishnu by the Hindus, the Son by the Christians.

The aspect in which he dissolves the worlds when they are of no further use is

named Siva or Mahadeva by the Hindus, the Father by the Christians. There are

innumerable universes, and countless solar systems in each universe. Each solar

system is energized and controlled by a mighty Being called the Solar Logos or

the Solar Deity. For our solar system, the Solar Deity is called Savitri by the

Hindus. Next below the Solar Deity are the seven Solar Planetary Logoi or the

Planetary Spirits. Just as the seven Cosmic Planetary Logoi mentioned above are

the seven Embodiments of the nature of the One, the seven Solar Planetary Logoi

are the seven expressions of the nature of the Solar Deity. These seven aspects

are known as the seven Prajapatis (Lords of Creatures) in Hinduism; the seven

Amesha Spentas (Immortal Holy Ones) in Zoroastrianism; the Seven Spirits before

the throne of God in Hebrew and Christian

tradition. The energies of these Seven control and direct all that takes place

within the solar system. They are the rulers of the planets Vulcan, Venus,

Earth, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. (More on these Seven Schemes of

Evolution later). Each of the Seven is the Head and Ruler of hierarchies of

creative entities who work under his direction in the building and sustaining

of the solar system. The hierarchies include Devas (or Shining Ones or Angelic

hosts) called Adityas, Vasus, Dhyan Chohans, etc. in Oriental religions, or

Angels, Archangels, Thrones, etc. in the Christian tradition -- manifestations

of the One, the innumerable ministers of the Supreme Will. Thus God manifests

Himself under a triple form, a Trinity (the Regenerator, Preserver and

Creator), spoken of by the Theosophist as the First, Second and Third Logos;

the Father, Son and Holy Ghost of the Christian; Siva, Vishnu and Brahma

of the Hindu; the Kepher, Binah and Chochmah of the Hebrew Kabbalist; Ahura,

Mazda and Ahuramazda --the Life, Wisdom and the One Existence-- of the

Zoroastrian. Thus God being immanent in all, all are sharers in one Life, and

form one great Brotherhood. We can now turn our thoughts to the actual building

of our solar system and the seven planes of Nature, in the next instalment. Tat

twam asi - That Thou art. -- Chandogya Upanishad Regards,saidevo