THE HUMAN UNIT.

Each of us is an essential part of a Cosmic Plan at the Crossroads of Evolution.

This particular dissertation could be aptly headed "Esoteric Anatomy", as it describes that which cannot be found in medical textbooks (but will have to be sometime in the future). Firstly, let us consider the illusion of solidity. All matter is made up of positive and negative subatomic particles, an atom amd the subatomic units being on the same scale as the solar system. This makes matter a very wide lattice which has been described as" a very loose type of three dimensional chicken wire". As our physical bodies are made up of the same material we have the illusion of solidity. The physical body is composed of millions of cells working in concert in a most wonderful way, each cell is an individual life and a complex chemical factory, the processess of which are only very slowly being worked out ; the science of genetics is streaks ahead. There are books and books about the physical body, the electro-magnetic duplicate of which is the etheric body is entirely different. It is an energy body co-existent with the physical ,which is essentially an extremely sophisticated organic robot, self- maintaining and self -repairing within certain limits; and yet is thoroughly dependent on the integrity of the etheric, and the balance of energy currents running through it. The health and feeling of well-being we have in the physical relies on this reservoir of vital energy, and its function as a transmitter of influences from the more refined and subtle vehicles in the make-up of the human unit. This brings us to the description of the seven features of this complex, the lower three of these are the solid, liquid and gaseous elements, the etheric being the fourth up the ladder, and forms a link between the lower three and the higher three spiritual ones, reflecting in a profound and mysterious way the septenary basis of the cosmos, a theme to be enlarged on further.

There are currents of energy running through the etheric body and is usually called "prana(sanskrit) "or "chi (chinese)". The pathways of this energy are three, the main one travels from the feet upwards behind the body to the top of the head and down to the feet in front. There is also a lateral current flowing sideways round the body in a similar fashion, and the third goes in a tight spiral from the feet upwards. Disturbances in the dynamic balance of these energy flows results in some sort of physical discomfort,or worse. The pranic energy is held to be of two types, positive and negative, which are the Yin and Yang of the acupuncturists, who use well defined lines of points on the skin , which can be stimulated in various ways to correct any imbalance causing ill-health.

The Aura is an extension of the field of energy around the body and can be partly displayed using Kirlian photography, the shapes and colours of which fluctuate according to the emotional and physical state. Some clairvoyants claim to be able assess the character and health of an individual according to the colours in the aura. There are vortices of energy in front of the body, and which are an extension of the workings of the etheric.These are the"chakras" described in books on psychism and yoga .The main centres are seven in number, each one influencing a certain endocrine gland,or sympathetic nerve.

The etheric body is separated from the physical at death, carrying with it the departing lifestream. It is allowed to disintegrate after a few days, and that coexisting vehicle the emotional, or" astral body", takes over the duty of conveying the deceased personality to the appropriate realm.

A description of the remaining sheaths, transported along with the astral, deal with "mental", the"intuitional" and the "spiritual". Each of these exist on an octave of higher frequency than the one immediately below.

Meanwhile, "The Astral Body" :--Read this in the light of the chapters on the Hidden Worlds, and Rounds and Races.

It is the emotional body and the seat of the emotions. It is most important in so far as, it represents the most important phase of human evolution on this planet, wherein we are of the 4 th. Globe, the 4th.Round, the 4th.Chain and constituting the 4th.Human Hierarchy(or the 9th.if the 5 gone before in previous cycles are to be considered) ref.under heading "Globes and Rounds". The Kurukshestra is the battle typified in the Bhagavad Gita and occurs within ourselves on the Plane of the Astral Body, symbolic of the struggle to overcome the lower self and permit union with the" Higher Self ", which is synonymous with the "Soul".This entails the sacrifice of freewill, which on close analysis is not really free at all. Needless to say, we are a long way from that stage, but will achieve this after which for us, will be many lives.This conflict is not only individual, but is of racial proportions and involves "materialism v. spirituality". Victory is the complete control of the emotions, the state which will herald the next quantum jump in evolution, when Mind will be most prominent ; and so then the mind, calm and still, like a lake of glass makes the biblical saying "there shall be no sea" more understandable.

The Astral Plane of theSolar System is the 6th. Subplane of the Cosmic "Physical"(7th.).The Great Mother controls the Devic Kingdom and is closely linked with Devas of The Waters; water is essential to all life. The esoteric contemplation of the Watery Element sheds a lot of light on the significance of the Astral .The 6th.Solar Plane is in direct harmonic resonance with the 6th.Cosmic, which is the Cosmic Astral with an interplay between it and the 4th., the Buddhic Plane. Also, the 6th. Principle is the Love Aspect or Christ Principle working through these connections.The diagram of the "Septenary levels of The Cosmos" shows these features and should be referred to for clarity.

Astral Energies emanating from that area of space identified with the sign of Aquarius are already having effect, and will ultimately produce Universal Brotherhood and Unity after a "1000 years "according to A.Bailey's book "White Magic", my feeling is that it will be much longer.

In summation, therefore, the Astral is of the Emotions and is esoterically "Watery", subject to calmness v. turbulence. It is, in a way, emblematic of The Primordial Chaos and in some ancient cosmogonies of The Cosmic Mother, under a variety of goddess names, and more recently, designated "Mary"( note the inference from the word "mare"french for" sea"). The goddess has always been the patron saint and protector of mariners, and carried in effigy on the prow of their ships.

Before describing the remaining two vehicles in the make-up of mankind, it is worthwhile considering some fundamental aspects of a human being and their correspondences with those on a higher plane. An attempt is made to show this as simply as possible in the following tables, which have been taken from "The Soul", a compilation of the works of Alice Bailey.

Each of us is a pivot on which the evolution of the universe depends.

THE CONSTITUTION OF THE HUMAN UNIT

This is a scheme of the Triple Nature of a Human , showing the reflection of the Trinity Itself and the hidden potential in everyone to be realised eventually throughout the eons of an eternity.Please note that the term "EGO"used here relates to The Higher Consciousness, NOT that as seen in the works on psychology wherein it refers to the personality.

1.THE MONAD. Reflects the Three Aspects of The Absolute Godhead.

1. Will/Power - Father

2. Love/Wisdom - Son

3. Active Intelligence - Mother ( Holy Spirit

2. THE "EGO"*. Reflects The Monad. - The Higher Self. (Soul) (*footnote)

1. Spiritual Will - Atma

2. Intuition - Buddhi

3.Higher Abstract Mind Higher Manas

3. PERSONALITY.The Lower Self. - Physical

1.Conscious Mind + Subconscious Mind ( A Mental Body )

2.Emotional - ( The Astral Body )

3. Physical - (Dense Physical +Etheric)

*Not to be confused with the Freudian "ego"which is that of the personality

These Three are A Reflection Of The Trinity, and the Upper Three of The Sephiroth

The monad of The Human Unit is situated in the Centre of the Heart as a minute volume of "space" but is not physical space but that mysterious vaccuum behind all the multitude of dimensions of Manifest Creation in a small replica of the MONAD which is the ABSOLUTE and harboured in every lifestream throughout the eternities.