Evolution of Life and Form: Four lectures delivered at the twenty-third anniversary meeting of the Theosophical Society at Adyar, Madras, 1898 — John Shaqi
Evolution of Life and Form: Four lectures delivered at the twenty-third anniversary meeting of the Theosophical Society at Adyar, Madras, 1898Besant, Annie
Religion
Evolution of Life and Form: Four lectures delivered at the twenty-third anniversary meeting of the Theosophical Society at Adyar, Madras, 1898
Besant, Annie
Evolution; Life -- Origin; Theosophy
Now leaving that, for I cannot go into further details, let me just say
to you one word about the seven and the five, because that has been a
source of great dispute between some of our Hindu Pandits and some of
our Theosophists. In the universe, taken as a whole, seven-fold is the
life of Íshvara. Beyond the tattva that we know as A'kâsha, there is
that tattva which has been called Anupâdaka, and beyond that A'ditattva,
the first. Those are far beyond our knowing; we cannot think so far. For
our life-evolution, the five mark the limit; and only the five,
therefore, as a rule, are given in the books which are to be studied to
show you how to evolve.
Rapidly we must pass onward, then, to these tattvas as, modifying
themselves by aggregations, and by disintegrations and re-combinations
of these, they make innumerable forms. The fundamental conception is
that there are as many basic forms of atoms in the universe as there are
tattvas. The tattva of ancient science is the atom of modern science,
but modern science makes the mistake of supposing that there is only one
fundamental atom. The truth is that modern science is only seeking to
get hold of the Prithivî Tattva, the lowest, or physical, atom, and it
has not yet recognized even the existence of the four (or six) higher
atoms that stretch beyond. These atoms form the regions of the universe.
All that is physical is made up from the Prithivî Tattva. Not only is
this so, but within the limits of this physical region, correspondences
of all the higher six atomic forms are reproduced. The sub-divisions of
the physical region, due to combinations of the Prithivî Tattva, show
forth the characteristics of the great regions which make up the
universe; so that we have here in our solid, liquid, gas, three ethers
and atoms, correspondences of the six higher tattvas, but we have them
all in their Prithivî form; they are the modifications of Prithivî,
reproducing on a lower plane the great primary elements. We might
call them Prithivî A'ditattva, Prithivî Anupâdhakatattva, Prithivî
A'kâshatattva, Prithivî Vâyutattva, Prithivî Agnitattva, Prithivî
Apastattva, Prithivî Prithivîtattva. Above the region of Prithivî comes
the great realm of Apas, with similar sub-divisions, all of the
Apastattva, and so again another seven above that in the higher realm of
Agni, and above that the same in the still higher realm of Vâyu, and
above that again in the A'kâsha, and then the highest two unknown
realms. When you remember that all these regions interpenetrate the one
the other, you will gain some glimpse of a complexity dizzying to think
of, the vast complexity of the universe in which the One Life is
working. Yet that complexity is simplified by thus working downwards,
and there is the line of the study of the ancient science. Working out
from this originally simple life into the endless multiplicity of forms,
we may trace the One among the many, and see the Self in all things, and
all things in Him.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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