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A Treatise on Cosmic Fire - Section Two - Division C - The Egoic Ray and Solar Fire
2. The Twelve-Petalled Egoic Lotus Solar Fire is dual. It is the fire of matter or substance and the fire of mind blended. This makes man the six-pointed Star of Light, for each of these fires is triple. The fire of mind is also in essence dual, bringing in another triplicity, thus making the nine. When a man has awakened the nine fires, and has unfolded the nine petals, and when he has received the stimulus which is imparted at initiation, through being brought into conscious contact with the electric spark of his own particular Heavenly Man, they all blend and merge. The [539] inner three which complete the twelve, and which are concerned with the final, and essentially spiritual stages, of his evolution, are really related more intimately to the evolution of the Heavenly Man, and are connected with the stimulus which He receives Himself in contacting the logoic electric spark, or the pure Spirit aspect of the Logos. It should here be noted that this ninefold development is hinted at in the Secret Doctrine in the various places where H. P. B. deals with the Kumaras (S. D., II, 257.) or the Heavenly Men, of Whom the microcosm is a reflection. She calls Them the Lords of Knowledge, the Lords of Love and the Lords of Sacrifice. Each of Them is a nine-petalled Lotus in the logoic body. They are the flaming Wheels, and in Their various names, as found in the Secret Doctrine, may be discovered the clue to the mystery. Let us realize this clearly, nevertheless, as regards the microcosm, and later extend the idea to the Heavenly Men. Let us picture the nine-petalled egoic lotus, the heart center in the monadic consciousness, unfolding each of its petals in groups of three upon the three subplanes of the higher mental. Their unfoldment is worked out through the evolutionary process, undergone on the three planes in the three worlds, or within the three Halls of Ignorance, of Learning, and of Wisdom. a. First Group of Petals - Knowledge Petals: The Petal of Knowledge for the physical plane. Through the breaking of the Law and the ensuing suffering the price of ignorance is paid and knowledge is achieved. This unfoldment is brought about through physical plane experience. The Petal of Love for the physical plane. Unfolds through physical relationships, and the gradual growth of love from love of self to love of others. [540] The Petal of Sacrifice for the physical plane. This unfoldment is brought about through the driving force of circumstances, and not of free will. It is the offering up of the physical body upon the altar of desire - low desire to begin with, but aspiration towards the end, though still desire. As man in the early stages of his evolution is polarized on the physical, much of this is undergone unconsciously and without any realization of what is being consummated, but the result in the causal body is seen in a twofold increase of heat or of activity: The physical permanent atom becomes radioactive or a radiant point of fire. The lower three petals become vibrant and begin to unfold until fully developed. b. Second Group of Petals - Love Petals: The Petal of Knowledge, for the astral plane; unfoldment is brought about by the conscious balancing of the pairs of opposites, and the gradual utilization of the Law of Attraction and Repulsion. The man passes out of the Hall of Ignorance where, from the egoic point of view, he works blindly and begins to appreciate the effects of his physical plane life; by a realization of his essential duality he begins to comprehend causes. The Petal of Love for the astral plane; unfoldment is brought about through the process of gradually transmuting the love of the subjective nature or of the Self within. This has a dual effect and works through on to the physical plane in many lives of turmoil, of endeavor and of failure as a man strives to turn his attention to the love of the Real. The Petal of Sacrifice for the astral plane; unfoldment is brought about by the attitude of man as he [541] consciously endeavors to give up his own desires for the sake of his group. His motive is still somewhat a blind one, and still colored by the desire for a return of that which he gives and for love from those he seeks to serve, but it is of a much higher order than the blind sacrifice to which a man is driven by circumstances as is the case in the earlier unfoldment. As this threefold enlightenment or unfoldment proceeds, again a dual result is seen: The astral permanent atom comes into full activity and radiance, as regards five of its spirillae, and the two atoms of the physical and the astral planes are equally vibrant. The three petals of the central ring of the egoic lotus come also into full unfoldment, and the heart center of the Monad is seen as a wheel of fire with six of its spokes in full display of energy and rapidly rotating. c. Third Group of Petals - Sacrifice Petals: The Petal of Knowledge for the mental plane; its unfoldment marks the period wherein the man consciously utilizes all that he has gained or is gaining under the law for the definite benefit of humanity. Each of the groups of petals is distinguished by a predominant coloring; Knowledge, on the physical plane, with the coloring of the other two subsidiary; Love, on the astral plane, with the light of sacrifice weaker in tone than the other two, which practically show forth in equal brilliancy. On the mental plane, the light of sacrifice comes to its full display, and all that is seen is colored by that light. The Petal of Love on the mental plane is unfolded [542] through the conscious steady application of all the powers of the soul to the service of humanity with no thought of return nor any desire for reward for the immense sacrifice involved. The Petal of Sacrifice for the mental plane: demonstrates as the predominant bias of the soul as seen in a series of many lives spent by the initiate prior to his final emancipation. He becomes in his sphere the "Great Sacrifice." This stage can be seen objectively to the eye of the clairvoyant as dual in effect: The mental unit becomes a radiant point of light; its four spirillae transmit force with intense rapidity. The three higher petals unfold, and the nine-petalled lotus is seen perfected. The causal body is then (expressed in terms of fire) a blazing center of heat, radiating to its group warmth and vitality. Within the periphery of the egoic wheel can be seen the nine spokes rotating with intense rapidity and - after the third Initiation - becoming fourth dimensional, or the wheels "turn upon" themselves. (Bible. Ezekiel, 1:15:21.) In the midst forming a certain geometrical triangle (differing according to the ray of the Monad) can be seen three points of fire, or the permanent atoms and the mental unit, in all their glory; at the center can be seen a central blaze of glory growing in intensity as the three inner petals respond to the stimulation. When the fire of matter, or "fire by friction," becomes sufficiently intense; when the fire of mind, or solar fire (which vitalizes the nine petals) becomes equally fierce, and when the electric spark at the innermost center blazes out and can be seen, the [543] entire causal body becomes radioactive. Then the fires of substance (the vitality of the permanent atoms) escape from the atomic spheres, and add their quota to the great sphere in which they are contained; the fire of mind blends with its emanating source, and the central life escapes. This is the great liberation. The man, in terms of human endeavor, has achieved his goal. He has passed through the three Halls and in each has transferred that which he gained therein to the content of his consciousness; he has in ordered sequence developed and opened the petals of the lotus - first opening the lower three, which involves a process covering a vast period of time. Then the second series of petals are opened, during a period of time covering his participation intelligently in world affairs until he enters the spiritual kingdom at the first Initiation; and a final and briefer period wherein the three higher or inner ring of petals are developed and opened. In closing what may be said on this subject of the egoic Ray and fire of mind, I would request the student to bear the following points in mind: First. That the order of the development of the petals and the stimulation of the fires depends upon the Ray of the Monad, and the subray upon which the causal body finds itself. This thought would bear expansion, and would prove a fruitful source of study to the occult investigator. Second. That this unfoldment proceeds slowly in the early stages, and only proceeds with rapidity as the man himself works at it with conscious effort. The Ego takes no active interest in the development until the second petal in the second series is beginning to open. Before that time, the work proceeds under the [544] law of its being and through the inherent life of the second Logos which is the life of the petals of the lotus. The life of the first Logos, working through the SELF (who dwells in a form built by the life or energy of the second Logos out of force-substance animated by the life of the third Logos) only responds to opportunity when the above mentioned stage is reached. Finally: The ceremony of initiation is only undergone when the causal body is in a condition to respond to the Will aspect of the Heavenly Man (the first aspect) and to do this through the glad cooperation of the fully conscious self. More on this is not now possible, but enough has here been indicated to open up various lines of study. These, if followed, will lead the student to much of practical value and application.
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