Subtle body
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According to the traditional teachings of Yoga and various esoteric, occult, and mystical teachings, human beings are constituted not only by a gross physical form but by a series of energetic psycho-spiritual subtle bodies each of increasing subtlety and metaphysical significance. Derived principally from the Indian spiritual tradition where they were originally conceived as sheaths covering the immortal soul these concepts spread throughout the West in the late nineteenth century through the theosophical movement.
Subtle body is more specifically a term for the pranic, mental and consciousness bodies considered collectively (see Sukshma sarira).
The concept of one or more subtle bodies in human beings is a common philosophical element in diverse spiritual traditions.
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[edit] Interpretations - Eastern Esotericism
The yogic systems of India (including the Tantric tradition), Tibet, China (Taoist alchemy) and Japan (Shingon) describe a subtle physiology or yogic anatonomy in terms of a series of channels (nadis, Acupuncture meridians) that convey life-force (prana, vayu, ch'i, ki) and have a number of focal points (chakras, acupuncture points). These invisible channels and points are understood to determine the characteristics of the visible physical form. The general principal in the spiritual traditions of India is that the characteristics of each level of manifestation are determined by the characteristics of a more subtle level whose form is determined by an even more subtle level of manifestation ultimately determined at the level of the immortal spirit, Brahman (God). By understanding and mastering the subtlest levels of reality one gains mastery over the physical realm. This mastery is gained primarily through the self-knowledge (atma-jnana) gained by commitment to the path of yoga. Through practice of various breathing and visualisation exercises one is able to manipulate and direct the flow of vital force, to achieve superhuman (e.g. in martial arts) or miraculous powers ("siddhis"), attain higher states of consciousness, immortality, or liberation. The various attributes of the yogic body are described in terms of often obscure symbolism (Tantra features references to the sun and the moon and various Indian rivers and deities, Taoist alchemy speaks of cauldrens, cinnabar fields, and so on).
[edit] Interpretations - Western esotericism
[edit] The ascent of the soul
According to contemporary traditions of Western esotericism and wisdom schools, such as the teachings of Blavatsky, Adyar Theosophy, Steiner, Heindel, and some forms of Spiritualism, after physical death one lives in the subtle bodies until these too drop away and the Soul or Spirit returns to its true home to rest before reincarnating (however the details of the sequences vary). Similar ideas to those of theosophy are found, but less systematically presented, in The Mother's talks. And whilst Steiner drew a lot of his inspiration from Theosophy (one of his early books was even called Theosophy), The Mother's occultism is based in large measure on the teachings of Max Theon.
[edit] Blavatsky
H. P. Blavatsky's Theosophical teaching represented the convergence of 19th century Western occultism, Eastern philosophy, religion, science, and mysticism. Although her first major work, Isis Unveiled, was based on the trilogy of body, soul, and spirit, as taught in Western occultism, the later and even more influential The Secret Doctrine, and the shorter The Key to Theosophy combined the Vedantic concept of five koshas with the Western esoteric tradition (beginning with Neoplatonism). She refers to seven primciples, including the physical body, a number of subtle bodies or vehicles (okhema) of consciousness, and the transcendent immortal spirit. From lowest to highest, these are:
- Sthula Sharira - the Gross Physical body
- Linga Sharira - the Double or Astral body
- Prana - Vital principle
- Kama rupa - the "Desire Form"
- Manas - Mind, consisting of a Lower and a Higher Manas, the latter being the spiritual Ego
- Buddhi - Spiritual Soul (the vehicle of spirit)
- Atma - Spirit, ray of The Absolute
[edit] Adyar Theosophy
Blavatsky's ideas were further systematised in the writings of C.W. Leadbeater and Annie Besant, who established the Adyar School of Theosophy. They described in detail the seven bodies, and established many of the themes that would be canonical in "new age" thought. The sequence of bodies or "vehicles" is as follows (from densest to most subtle):
- Dense physical body
- Etheric body
- Astral or emotional body
- Mental body (concrete mind)
- Causal body (abstract mind)
Beyond the causal level are the atmic, buddhic, and monadic levels, but these pertain to the Soul or Spirit ("Higher Triad", "Monad") rather than the subtle body.
In this worldview, the physical body is the densest, with the various subtle bodies being progressively more refined or spiritual. The subtle bodies exist alongside or within or around the physical, and have various characteristics and attributes. Each "body" has its own aura and set of chakras, and corresponds to a particular plane of existence, as the individualisation so to speak of that plane. Thus the astral body is made up of the substance or matter of the astral plane, just as the physical body is made up of the elements of the physical plane, and so on with all the bodies. A detailed account of the various subtle bodies and the corresponding planes is provided in a series of books (The Etheric Body, The Astral Body, The Mental Body, and The Causal Body) by Arthur E Powell on the basis of material compiled from the writings of Leadbeater and Besant.
The Adyar arrangement was taken up by Alice Bailey, and from there found its way (with variations) into the New Age worldview.
[edit] Rudolf Steiner
This same theme (of dense to subtle Body and Plane/Universe) is also found in Rudolf Steiner's Anthroposophical teachings, although it is usually simplified in relation to the Theosophical interpretations in that only the Physical, Etheric, and Astral Bodies are referred to (beyond the Astral is the Ego which in Steiner's system is the immortal soul or spiritual aspect of man). However, Steiner also referred to a threefold classification of body,soul,and spirit, as well as a sevenfold and even a ninefold sescription (see also Anthroposophical view of the human being).
[edit] Max Heindel
Max Heindel's Rosicrucian writings teach that man is a complex being who possesses:
- A Dense Body, which is the visible instrument he uses here in this world to fetch and carry (the body we ordinarily think of as the whole man);
- A Vital Body, which is made of Ether and pervades the visible body as ether permeates all other forms, except that human beings specialize a greater amount of the universal ether than other forms (that ethereal body is our instrument for specializing the vital energy of the sun and it is seen by clairvoyant vision to extend about an inch and a half outside our visible body); it is related to the Etheric Region of the Physical World;
- A Desire body, which is our emotional nature and this finer vehicle pervades both the vital and dense bodies (it is seen by clairvoyant vision to extend about 16 inches outside our visible body, which is located in the center of this ovoid cloud as the yolk is in the center of an egg); it is related to the Desire World;
- The Mind, which functions like a mirror, reflects the outer world and enables the Ego to transmit its commands as thought and word, and also to compel action; it is related to the lower region of the World of Thought, the Region of Concrete Thought.
On the other hand, Heindel also teaches the Ego is the threefold Spirit, the God Within, which uses these vehicles to gather experience in the school of life. The three aspects of the Spirit are [1]:
- The Human Spirit aspect, which has emanated from itself the desire body to be transmuted into the Emotional Soul;
- The Life Spirit aspect, which has emanated from itself the vital body to be transmuted into the Intellectual Soul;
- The Divine Spirit aspect, which has emanated from itself the dense body to be transmuted into the Conscious Soul.
All in all, from the perspective of the Western Wisdom Teachings, the human being is seen as a threefold Spirit, possessing a Mind, by means of which he governs the threefold Body. This threefold body he transmutes into a threefold Soul, upon which he nourishes himself from impotence into omnipotence [2].
Yet, according to the former teachings claimed to be emanated from the true and invisible Rosicrucian Order, an even higher spirituality Order than the Rosicrucians, called the Manichees, will be active during the next period of evolution to aid mankind deal with the serious problems that it will face at that time; problems that can already be perceived in present times. Their mission is said to be written in their own legend:
| “ | In the legend of the Manichees there are two kingdoms--that of the Light-Elves and that of the Night Elves. The latter attack the former, are defeated and must be punished. But, as the Light-Elves are as thoroughly good as the Night-Elves are bad, they cannot inflict evil upon their foes, so they must be punished with Good. Therefore a part of the kingdom of the Light-Elves is incorporated with that of the Night-Elves and in this way the evil is in time overcome. Hate which will not submit to hate, must succumb to Love. [1] | ” |
[edit] Fourth Way
An interesting variant on the concept of subtle bodies is found in both Alchemical Taoism and the "Fourth Way" teachings of Gurdjieff and Ouspensky, where it is said that one can create a subtle body, and hence achieve post-mortem immortality, through spiritual or yogic exercises. The "soul" then is not something one is born with, but something that one has to develop through esoteric practice.
[edit] Samael Aun Weor
| “ | The Theosophical and pseudo-Rosicrucian schools have made the pseudo-occultist students believe that the intellectual animal already possesses the seven bodies. Such a concept is false. The reality is that due to a lack of cosmic Initiation, the clairvoyants of the Theosophical Society have given deficient information, confusing the astral substance and the ego with the legitimate Astral Body. They have also confused those who mistake the legion of "I's" for the authentic Mental Body, and the Essence or Buddhata for the Causal body, etc. In this way, and with such hypotheses in the mind, it is clear that the fanatical ones of yoga, pseudo-esotericism or pseudo-occultism, etc., have not comprehended the necessity of creating the inner bodies (they believe that they already have them, due to misinformation).
If they could profoundly comprehend the inner bodies and based themselves in the Law of the Philosophical Analogies, they would work with the Maithuna or Sexual Magic, because they would comprehend that "as beyond, so below" - if with the sexual act we engender children, then (by the Law of Analogies) with that same act we engender the inner bodies. [2] |
” |
Samael Aun Weor wrote extensively on the topic of the vehicles that exist within the subtle dimensions of space. He organized them in accordance with the kabbalistic Tree of Life. A major contrast against other esoteric doctrines is that only those who have been "born again" possess a soul, and that the common person only contains the lunar vehicles of emotion (astral body), thought (mental body), and will (causal body). The birth of the solar vehicles is an elaboration of the same substances and usage of the same forces that engender physical bodies, namely a special form of sexual intercourse called White tantrism. It is stated that the transmutation of sexual energies that occur during coitus without desire or orgasm rarefies the creative matter into the superior dimensions of space in order to crystallize into the authentic human soul.
The lunar bodies are concentrations in the spheres of emotion, thought, and will, of the collective animalistic intelligence related to the evolution of the Essence through the mineral, plant and animal kingdoms. In this sense, becoming a true human means to have a true human soul, which is the Solar Astral Body, Solar Mental Body and the Solar Casual Body. Only when these bodies are constructed through individual willpower does one's Monad have true individual expression (opposed to collective expression) in the inferior dimensions of space.
| Dimension | Lunar (Egoic) Vehicle | Solar (Christic) Vehicle | Sefirah |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st - 3rd | Physical body | Body of Liberation; Rainbow Body | Malkuth |
| 4th | Ethereal Body; Vital Body | Body of Liberation; Rainbow Body | Yesod |
| 5th | Lunar Astral Body; Desire Body; Kama rupa | Solar Astral Body | Hod |
| 5th | Lunar Mental Body | Solar Mental Body; Inferior Manas | Netzach |
| 6th | Essence; Virginal Spark | Solar Casual Body; Superior Manas; Human Soul | Tiphereth |
| 6th | n/a | Buddhi; Divine Soul | Geburah |
| 6th | n/a | Atman; The Innermost | Chesed |
| 7th | n/a | The Holy Spirit; The Holy Reconciliation; Nirmanakaya | Binah |
| 7th | n/a | Son; The Holy Negation; Sambhogakaya | Chokmah |
| 7th | n/a | Father; The Holy Affirmation; Dharmakaya | Kether |
[edit] Barbara Brennan
The Adyar arrangement seems also to have been one of the inspirations behind Barbara Brennan's account of the subtle bodies by in her books Hands of Light and Light Emerging. She refers to the subtle bodies as "layers" in the "Human Energy Field" or aura, and presents the following sequence:
- Physical body
- Etheric body
- Emotional body
- Mental body
- Astral body
- Etheric template
- Celestial body
- Ketheric template
Causality proceeds from the Ketheric template downwards, and each of the layers has its own characteristics and can have its own expression of disease, requiring individual healing. As with the Adyar arrangement, each body or aura also has its own complement of chakras, which interrelate to the chakras in the other layers. The first four bodies correspond to the Physical plane, the Astral body to the Astral Plane, and the higher three bodies or layers to the Spiritual World. In Hands of Light two higher layers are also briefly referred to beyond the Ketheric Template.
[edit] Projection and exteriorisation
The practice of astral projection, as described in various literature, is supposed to involve the separation of the Astral body from the Physical. But according to The Mother, not only is it possible to go out from a denser to a more subtle body or self (she referred to this as exteriorisation), but if one has the right training this process can be repeated until one reaches the border of the infinite (or Absolute Reality).
[edit] Perceiving the subtle body
Clairvoyants say that they can see the subtle bodies in the aura. There are several books (Barbara Brennan's Hands of Light being perhaps the most popular and influential) and websites which include paintings of subtle bodies, their colours and structure. And Kirlian and other forms of high voltage photography claim to be able to photograph the subtle body (or at least its densest member, the electromagnetic body, sometimes identified with the etheric), including what appear to be acupuncture meridians.
The existence of subtle bodies is unconfirmed by the scientific community.
[edit] See also
Traditions
- Vedanta (the five kosas)
- Samkhya (the linga sarira or sukshma sarira)
- Tantra (the yogic body)
- Neoplatonism (the okhemas)
- Sufism
- Taoism
- Spiritism
- Surat Shabd Yoga
- Hermeticism
- Theosophy (the Septenary, inspired by the five koshas of Vedanta)
- Anthroposophy (the etheric and astral bodies)
- Rosicrucianism, in the Western Wisdom Teachings philosophy (a Seven-fold and a Ten-fold constitution of Man)
- Thelemic mysticism
- Various New Age practices
- Spiritual science
- Sahaja Yoga
Other topics
- Aura
- biofield
- Clairvoyance
- Esoteric cosmology
- Kirlian photography
- Kundalini
- Life review
- Reincarnation
- Perispirit
- Silver cord
- Spiritual evolution
- Spirituality
[edit] References
- Alfass, Mirra (The Mother) Mother's Agenda
- Besant, Annie, Man and His Bodies
- Brennan, Barbara Ann, Hands of Light : A Guide to Healing Through the Human Energy Field, Bantam Books, 1987
- —, Light Emerging: The Journey of Personal Healing, Bantam Books, 1993
- Mircea Eliade, Yoga: Immortality and Freedom; transl. by W.R. Trask, Princeton University Press, 1969
- C. W. Leadbeater, Man, Visible and Invisible
- Sheila Ostrander and Lynn Schroeder Psychic Discoveries Behind the Iron Curtain, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall Inc., 1970.
- Poortman, J. J. Vehicles of Consciousness; The Concept of Hylic Pluralism (Ochema), vol I-IV, The Theosophical Society in Netherlands, 1978
- Powell, Arthur E. The Astral Body and other Astral Phenomena
- —, The Causal Body and the Ego
- —, The Etheric Double
- —, The Mental Body
- Samael Aun Weor, The Perfect Matrimony or The Door to Enter into Initiation. Thelema Press. (1950) 2003.
- Samael Aun Weor, The Esoteric Course of Alchemical Kabbalah. Thelema Press. (1969) 2007.
- Steiner, Rudolph, Theosophy: An introduction to the supersensible knowledge of the world and the destination of man. London: Rudolf Steiner Press. (1904) 1970
- —, Occult science - An Outline. Trans. George and Mary Adams. London: Rudolf Steiner Press, 1909, 1969
- Heindel, Max, The Rosicrucian Mysteries (Chapter IV: The Constitution of Man: Vital Body - Desire Body - Mind), 1911, ISBN 0-911274-86-3
[edit] Notes
- ^ Max Heindel. The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception.
- ^ Samael Aun Weor. Types of Spiritual Schools. Note: The "ego" referred to by Samael Aun Weor is not used in the same context as it is used other esoteric schools.
[edit] External links
- The Institute of Noetic Sciences supporting research into supposed subtle body phenomena
![[1]](http://www.rosicrucian.com/images/rccen002.gif){kind=link}
![[2]](http://www.rosicrucian.com/images/rccen005.gif){kind=link}