David M. Grossman – USA
Each of us is an individual spark emanating from the absolute, rays from the one spiritual sun, so to speak, journeying through the manifested universe. This is the basic teaching of Theosophy. Theosophy further points out that there is a purpose to all this, one that is imbedded in the fabric of our being, in every being in fact, as HPB puts it:
The radical unity of the ultimate essence of each constituent part of compounds in Nature—from Star to mineral Atom, from the highest Dhyan Chohan to the smallest infusoria, in the fullest acceptation of the term, and whether applied to the spiritual, intellectual, or physical worlds—this is the one fundamental law in Occult Science.
The Secret Doctrine, vol.1, pg.120
As certain philosophical concepts were not part of western philosophy or science HPB turned to those from the more ancient philosophies of the East and drew on Sanskrit which is a spiritually sophisticated language. Atma, the spiritual essence at the core of every being by definition can have no direct connection with anything manifested as it is what we can only call pure spiritual light.
So, Theosophy proposes a vehicle, termed Buddhi in the Indian nomenclature, which is a kind of focal point. The term monad is defined as the fusing of Atma and Buddhi. We can say the spiritual unit comes to life when the Buddhi principle is permeated by the truly life-giving source emanation we call Atma; the “Divine Spark,” or Monas according to Pythagoras. Then it connects with Manas, the mind principle, and it is here that we can speak about the idea of individuality or the spiritual Ego, the self-directing and evolving individual. It journeys through the races and rounds known as a Manvantara or great cycle and partakes in the collective evolutionary process as a self-conscious being.
We attempt to explain this somewhat unexplainable process in order to come down to the “nitty-gritty” of where we find ourselves today and begin to wrestle with our sense of identity as well as our actual identity.
Our actual identity seems to be innate. We know that “I am I, “ not someone else. Although we go to sleep each night and for the most part do not remember what transpired during that time, still we have the same sense of “I” that we did yesterday. And although we may realize that we see ourselves and the world differently than we did in the past, we still have the same sense of I. Our outer identity, the way others perceive us, our physical characteristics, our race, our religion, our beliefs do not give us our real identity.
W. Q. Judge points out:
We are born feeling that we are ourself, without a name, but using a name for convenience later on……And we know that even when a long period is blotted out of memory by fall, blow, or other accidental injury, the same feeling of identity crosses that gap and continues the same identical “I” to where memory again acts….. We do not remember our birth nor our naming, and if we are but a bundle of material experience, a mere product of brain and recollection, then we should have no identity but constant confusion. The contrary being the case, and continuous personal identity being felt and perceived, the inevitable conclusion is that we are the Hidden Self and that Self is above and beyond both body and brain.
Path Mag. 1894; “Proofs Of the Hidden Self
Where we run into trouble is when we begin to confuse our identity with our situation, our socio-economic position in life, our talents, or even our ideas which are subject to change. This is the quicksand of the personality or lower person.
How does our Identity differ from our individuality? If we mean by identity what identifies us, we might draw a picture of a person with a body, a race, a religion, etc.
From the outside in, others see a form, they see labels that reflect our particular capabilities, achievements and how we interface with the world. And as these things change and fade through time, if they are our foundation a kind of futility arises in the consciousness as expressed so intensely by Shakespeare’s Macbeth at his wife’s death:
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
Act 5, Scene 5 of Macbeth, by Wm. Shakespeare
Of course, Macbeth would grieve the passing of his wife. That is natural. But he is overwhelmed by his lack of awareness that the spiritual individuality known as Lady Macbeth will shine on; that her mortal identity like all forms will fade, and be transformed, but her true individuality, what in Theosophy is termed the Spiritual Ego, or Spiritual Individuality will ride on if you will. This is in contrast to the personal ego or personality which fades out in the first after death state known as Kama Loka.
HPB breaks it down as follows:
Atma (our seventh principle) being identical with the universal Spirit, and man being one with it in his essence, what is then the Monad proper? It is that homogeneous spark which radiates in millions of rays from the primeval “Seven;” – of which seven further on. It is the EMANATING spark from the UNCREATED Ray – a mystery.
The Secret Doctrine, Vol. 1, p. 570, 571
HPB further tells us that in Occult philosophy Buddhi is the vehicle of Atma (spiritual consciousness) and together are referred to as the monad or spiritual soul. It is often used as the Spiritual Triad Atma-Buddhi-Manas, the reincarnating Ego. As a duad it passes through the lower kingdoms and then passes into the human state with the “lighting up of manas or mind, becoming the spiritual individuality or Ego on this plane of existence.
In the human Kingdom Manas is the pivotal principle, Buddhi-Manas represents the reincarnating spiritual individuality where wisdom and true intuition reside. Kama-Manas on the other hand represents the worldly temporary personality from which we generally glean our false identity of a separative, and self-centered nature.
Having explored a bit our “metaphysical makeup”, how might this information weigh on or effect our everyday lives?
One question we might ask is how do we magnetize the Manasic principle to be drawn to the Buddhic and be released from the kamic? The words attributed to the Buddha in the opening of the Dhammapada say:
All that we are is the result of what we have thought: all that we are is founded on our thoughts and formed of our thoughts.
If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain pursues him, as the wheel of the wagon follows the hoof of the ox that draws it.
All that we are is the result of what we have thought: all that we are is founded on our thoughts and formed of our thoughts.
If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought happiness pursue him like his own shadow that never leaves him.
Dhammapada, ch. 1, The Twin Verses
These statements invite us too reflect on our general thinking patterns, what we actually think about and if we are mainly self-centered or do we think of others and the greater purpose of life.
The main lesson it seems we must learn, often over and over is that we are not actually our thoughts but rather the thinker. And the fact that we can observe our process of thinking means that we are even beyond that. All this points once again to the idea that the ongoing individuality that makes the journey through all the races and rounds as well as kingdoms of nature is the Monad which when the human stage is reached fuses with the mind principle, giving a sense of active identity to the manifest spiritual individual spark across the face of the dual universe of experience.
Like the snowflake, each of us have experiences and insights that are distinctive in that they are ours and thus carve out our individuality.
This perspective highlights the balance between our shared humanity; the identity as "all snowflakes" and our individual uniqueness, each one being distinct when examined.
We might now ask what might be the practical or meaningful point for this kind of mental exploration? It is in fact to realize that our individual uniqueness within our common spiritual identity affords us the opportunity to each be active participants in the evolution and uplifting of all life. This fact can inspire us to realize “a life that is worth living.” Some of the keys of life’s often mysterious unfoldment are to be found in an understanding of Karmic law.
HPB says:
We must not lose sight of the fact that every atom is subject to the general law governing the whole body to which it belongs, and here we come upon the wider track of the Karmic law. Do you not perceive that the aggregate of individual Karma becomes that of the nation to which those individuals belong, and further, that the sum total of National Karma is that of the World?
The Key To Theosophy in section XI under “What Is Karma?”
Further on in the same section HPB continues:
It is held as a truth among Theosophists that the interdependence of Humanity is the cause of what is called Distributive Karma, and it is this law which affords the solution to the great question of collective suffering and its relief. It is an occult law, moreover, that no man can rise superior to his individual failings, without lifting, be it ever so little, the whole body of which he is an integral part. In the same way, no one can sin, nor suffer the effects of sin, alone.
Speaking of distributive karma; each of us are self-conscious choosers, actors and are distributors ourselves in relation to others; friends, family, in the workplace, on the street and in all kinds of associations. We have an active influence in and on the collective psychic atmosphere; and when opportunities present themselves, as they often do, the more aware we are of others and the environment we inhabit we will be better able to add to the general spiritual uplift that Madame Blavatsky refers to above.
The more our sense of unity and connection with others and with the world grows and at the same time paradoxically the more we can be in it and not of it, the more useful we can be conscious co-workers with nature.
The insightful comment by Jesuit priest and philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience”, goes a long way to unravel the paradox of being seemingly in two different places at once and can help us understand the friction we feel at times caused by our inner impulses thrusting us in different directions. Theosophically this is referred to as the dual nature of Manas.
The more we can elevate the mind, raise the vibratory rate of our being by focusing on what is expressed really in all religions and moral philosophies worthy of the name: whether it is “Love thy neighbor as thy self,” or focusing in Plato’s terms on “The good, the true and the beautiful”, or following the ancient Greek aphorism, "Man, know thyself”, we will break the hypnotic trance of our false, chameleon-like identity and individuate and merge with the true, that higher alignment we referred to earlier as the Spiritual Ego. Only when collectively achieved will this bring about a true active sister- and brotherhood in society.
“All is well that ends well.”
(Old Proverb, Shakespearian play.)