[cover: 24 Books of Esoteric Philosophy by Alice Bailey.]

[The content of this article was extracted from Alice Bailey's books after atomatically searching the texts: “Lipika", "Lords of Karma", "Karmic Lords", and "Maharajahs".]

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<11> (A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, pp. 111-113.)

"... IV. MACROCOSMIC AND MICROCOSMIC ETHERS

1. The Planetary Logos and the Ethers.

Man, the indwelling thinker, passes at night from out of his etheric ring-pass-not and functions elsewhere. Therefore, under the law, the planetary Logos likewise can pass His ring-pass-not at stated seasons which correspond in the planet to the hours of man's temporary repose, or pralaya.

The solar Logos likewise does the same during stated cycles, which are not the cycles succeeding those which we term solar pralaya, but lesser cycles succeeding the 'days of Brahma' or periods of lesser activity, periodically viewed. All these are governed by karma, and just as the true Man himself applies the law of karma to his vehicles, and in his tiny system is the correspondence to that fourth group of karmic entities whom we call the Lipika Lords; He applies the law to his threefold lower nature. The fourth group of extra-cosmic Entities Who have Their place subsidiary to the three cosmic Logoi Who are the threefold sumtotal of the logoic nature, can pass the bounds of the solar ring-pass-not in Their stated cycles. This is a profound mystery and its complexity is increased by the recollection that the fourth Creative Hierarchy of human Monads, and the Lipika Lords in Their three groups (the first group, the second, and the four Maharajahs, making the totality of the threefold karmic rulers who stand between the solar Logos and the seven planetary Logoi), are more closely allied than the other Hierarchies, and their destinies are intimately interwoven.

A further link in this chain which is offered for consideration lies in the fact that the four rays of mind  (which concern the karma of the four planetary Logoi) in their totality hold in their keeping the present evolutionary process for Man, viewing him as the Thinker. These four, with the karmic four, work in the closest co-operation. Therefore, we have the following groups interacting:

First. The four Maharajahs, the lesser Lipika Lords,{49} who apply past karma and work it out in the present.

Second. The four Lipikas of the second group, referred to by H. P. B. as occupied in applying future karma, and wielding the future destiny of the races. The work of the first group of four cosmic Lipika Lords is occult and is only revealed somewhat at the fourth Initiation (and even then but slightly) so it will not be touched upon here.

Third. The fourth Creative Hierarchy of human Monads, held by a fourfold karmic law under the guidance of the Lipikas.

Fourth. The four planetary Logoi{50} of Harmony, Knowledge, Abstract Thought and Ceremonial, who are in Their totality the Quaternary of Manas while in process of evolution, and who pass under Their influence all the sons of men.

Fifth. The Deva Lords of the four planes of Buddhi, or the plane of spiritual Intuition, Manas, or the mental plane, Desire, and the Physical, who are likewise allied to the human evolution in a cIoser sense than the higher three. ..."

{49} The four Lipika Lords stand between the first and second plane.—S. D., I, 155.
   a. They can pass the ring-pass-not.—S. D., I, 157.
   b. They are connected with karma.—S. D., I, 153.
   c. They are concerned with the Hereafter.—S. D., I, 151.
   d. They are in three groups.—S. D., I, 153.
   e. They are the spirits of the Universe.—S. D., I, 153.
{50} The four rays of mind are the four minor rays which form the logoic Quaternary and which are synthesised eventually into a fifth ray, the third major ray of active intelligence, or adaptability. The names of the rays are as follows:
The three major rays:
   1. The Ray of Will or Power.
   2. The Ray of Love or Wisdom.
   3. The Ray of Active Intelligence.
The four minor Rays:
   4. The Ray of Beauty, Harmony, Art or Rhythm.
   5. The Ray of Concrete Knowledge or Science.
   6. The Ray of Abstract Idealism.
   7. The Ray of Ceremonial Order or Organisation.

♦

<12> (A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, p. 153.)

"... Students should here bear carefully in mind that we are not referring here to points in space; we are simply making this distinction and employing words in order to make an abstruse idea more comprehensible. From the point of view of the totality of the rays and planes there is no north, south, east nor west. But at this point comes a correspondence and a point of real interest, though also of complexity. By means of this very interaction, the work of the four Maharajahs or Lords of Karma, is made possible; the quaternary and all sumtotals of four can be seen as one of the basic combinations of matter, produced by the dual revolutions of planes and rays. ..."

♦

<13> (A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, pp. 212-213.)

"... Third. The Rod of Initiation, wielded by the Logos of the solar system, is called among other things, the "Sevenfold Flaming Fire." It was confided to our Logos by the Lord of Sirius and sent to our system from that radiant sun. One of its purposes is for use in emergencies. This great talisman has never yet been employed in this particular manner, though twice it was nearly thus used,—once in Atlantean days, and once in the third year of the late war. This Rod of Power is used at the initiation of the seven Heavenly Men on cosmic levels. It is used also in the initiation of groups, a thing almost incomprehensible to us. It is applied to the centres of the seven Heavenly Men in the same general way as the lesser Rods are applied to the human centres, and the effects are the same, only on a vaster scale. This, needless to say, is a vast and abstruse subject, and concerns not the sons of men. It is but touched upon, as an enumeration of the Rods of Initiation would be incomplete without some reference to it, and it serves to show the wondrous synthesis of the whole, and the place of the system within an even greater scheme. In all things cosmic, perfect law and order are found, and the ramifications of the plan can be seen on all planes and all subplanes. This greatest Rod is in the care of the first great group of karmic Lords. It might be described as the Rod which carries a voltage of pure fohatic force from cosmic levels. The two lesser Rods carry differentiated fohatic force. This logoic Rod of Power is kept within the Sun, and is only re-charged at the beginning of every one hundred years of Brahma.

The reason why the Rods of Power are here discussed is that they have definitely to do with the centres which are force vortices in matter and which (though channels for spiritual force, or centres wherein the 'will to be' finds expression) demonstrate as activity in matter. They are the centres of existence, and just as one cannot, in manifestation, dissociate the two poles of Spirit and matter, so one cannot, in initiation apply the Rod without bringing about definite effects between the two. The Rods are charged with Fohat which is fire of matter plus electric fire, hence their effect. The mystery cannot be explained in greater detail as the secrets of initiation are not transmissible. More has been here imparted on this matter than hitherto, though there are those who have heard these things. ..."

♦

<14> (A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, pp. 395-400.)

"... II. THE POSITION OF MANAS

1. Manas and Karma.

Having seen that manas is the intelligent purpose of some Being, working out in active objectivity, and having touched upon the inter-relation existing between certain of these Entities, it may now be possible to vision—even if somewhat cursorily and dimly—the true position of the manasic principle in all three cases. The whole mystery of this principle is hidden in two fundamentals:

The mystery of the resolution of the six-pointed star, into the five-pointed star.{40 41}

The mystery of the Lords of Karma, Who are, in themselves, the sole recipients of the Mind purposes of that cosmic ENTITY Who enfolds our solar Logos within His consciousness.

When, therefore, the esoteric side of astrology, and of mystical geometry, has been studied, and alliance has been made between these two sciences, a flood of light will be thrown upon this matter of the intelligent principle; when the inner workings of the Law of Cause and Effect (the law whereby the Lipika Lords govern all Their action) is better comprehended, then—and then only—will the sons of men be able to study with profit the place of manas in the evolutionary scheme. At the present time it is not possible to do more than point out the direction of the path which must be trodden before this abstruse matter can be made clear, and to indicate certain lines of investigation which might (if strenuously and scientifically followed) yield to the student a rich reward of knowledge. Until the intuition is better developed in the average man, the very principle of manas itself forms a barrier to its due understanding.

2. Manas and karmic purpose.

If it is realised by the student that manas and intelligent purpose are practically synonymous terms, it will be immediately apparent that karma, and the activities of the Lipika Lords, will be involved in the matter. It will also be apparent that only as the lower mind is transmuted into the abstract or higher mind and from thence into the intuition, will man be able to understand the significance of manas. We may perhaps ask why this must be so. Surely it is because the abstract mind is the agent on cosmic levels whereby the Entity concerned formulates His plans and purposes. These plans and purposes (conceived of in the abstract mind) in due course of evolution crystallise into concrete form by means of the concrete mind. What we call the archetypal plane in connection with the Logos (the plane whereon He forms His ideals, His aspirations and His abstract conceptions) is the logoic correspondence to the atomic abstract levels of the mental plane, from whence are initiated the impulses and purposes of the Spirit in man,—those purposes which eventually force him into an objective form, thus paralleling logoic manifestation. First the abstract concept, then the medium provided for manifestation in form, and, finally, that form itself. Such is the process for Gods and for men, and in it is hidden the mystery of mind and of its place in evolution.

For the sake of clarity, let us take the microcosm for momentary study. It should be realised by all students that man is Spirit or the Self, working through matter or the Not-Self, by means of the intelligence or manas, and it should also be realised that the statement of this fact (which is equally true of a solar Logos, a Heavenly Man, and a human being) involves the admission of certain deductions based on manifestation itself. One of these deductions is that by means of this principle of manas form is built. Therefore, the whole subject of the Builders has to be studied—those entities who are the embodiment of Universal Mind, who are the animating lives within the form, and who are the

Divine Manasaputras in their comprehensive totality. In the occult realisation of this lies hid the secret of the close relationship between man and the deva evolution, man being the repository (through the Heavenly Man of Whose body he forms a part) of the purpose of the Logos, and the devas in all their higher grades being the cohesive attractive factor which manipulates matter, and which moulds it into shape. The two are partners, indispensable to each other, and without the two working in close cooperation this objective solar system would immediately disintegrate, just as man's dense and etheric bodies disintegrate when the Spirit withdraws, and the Builders cease their work.

Three hierarchies in particular are concerned with objective manifestation in etheric matter, the fourth, or strictly human hierarchy, and the fifth and sixth or the deva hierarchies. The other hierarchies fulfill other purposes connected with the life of the Spirit in the higher forms in the cosmic ethers, but in connection with our present subject these three hierarchies work on the lower levels of the cosmic physical plane the subplanes of which we call the mental, astral, and physical planes. When the five and the four are perfectly blended, we shall have achieved the nine of a major initiation, and when the six is added we shall have the resolution into one of the groups embodied by a Kumara, as has been hinted earlier. This marks the resolution of the six-pointed star finally into the five-pointed star; this is a great mystery, and concerns primarily the Heavenly Man of our scheme, and only incidentally the groups within His body of etheric manifestation.

It will, therefore, be apparent that if all manifestation is the embodiment in form of a cosmic conception, and the working out of it in concrete shape, manas or intelligence is a basic factor of the process and the means whereby the link is made between the abstract and the concrete. This is already realised to be true in connection with man, and it is equally true of cosmic entities. As man progresses towards the heart of the mystery he awakens to a realisation that the aim of evolution for him is to build consciously the channel between the levels which are to him the planes of the abstract or of the ideal, and the concrete ones whereon he normally functions. This connecting channel has been inadequately called, and is literally "THE PATH" itself. He builds it:

By means of the manasic principle consciously applied.
By the process of transcending the karmic limitations of the three lower planes.
Through the method of dominating matter, or the Personality, considering it as the Not-Self.
Through the expansion of his consciousness through graded steps until it includes the planes he seeks to reach, and thereby demonstrating the truth of the statement that in order to tread the Path he must become that Path itself, and the accuracy of the occult truth that the antaskarana is itself but illusion.
Ponder on this, for it carries illumination for those who have eyes to see.

In the process of treading that Path and of achieving the goal, man is resolved into the five-pointed star, finally into the triangle of Spirit. Between these two stages is a mysterious esoteric stage wherein he is resolved into the four,—not this time the four of the lower quaternary, but a higher four. He becomes part of the consciousness of that occult group hinted at in various places which stands next to the three Logoi, the four great Maharajahs, the dispensers of karma, the repositories of cosmic purpose, who are reflected (but only reflected) in the logoic Quaternary, or in those four Heavenly Men Who embody (with their synthesising third) logoic manas. These four with the synthesising one are in Themselves the sumtotal of manas, the Brahma aspect, or Intelligence in activity. Karma works through manas, and only as the six-pointed star (or the sumtotal of concrete mind in its various divisions) becomes the five-pointed star, or the synthesis of the lower into the abstract or higher, is the transmutation into the three, or the Spiritual Triad, made possible via the four, or the formless repositories of karmic purpose; thus is liberation achieved, thus is man set free, and the microcosm attains BEING without the necessity of form-taking. A hint here in connection with the microcosm may help: When the microcosm has transcended the three worlds of matter and has become the five pointed star, he passes into the consciousness of the Monad, or pure Spirit, via the fourth plane of buddhi. For him the buddhic plane is the plane of karmic correspondence. On it he enters into the sphere of conscious co-operation in the working out of karma for a Heavenly Man, having completely worked out his personal karma in the lower three spheres. The student whose intuition suffices can work out the planes which correspond to the buddhic plane, for a Heavenly Man and for a solar Logos. This will only be possible if the concept is extended to cosmic levels and beyond the systemic. ..."

{40} It might be of interest to note the correspondences between these six forces and the "shaktis" of the Hindu philosophy. The Secret Doctrine says that:—
The Six are the six forces of Nature.
What are these six forces? See S. D., I, 312.
   a. They are types of energy.
   b. They are the dynamic quality or characteristic of a planetary Logos.
   c. They are the life force of a Heavenly Man directed in a certain direction.
These "shaktis" are as follows:—
   1. Parashakti—Literally, the supreme force, energy and radiation in and from substance.
   2. Jnanashakti—The force of intellect or mind.
   3. Ichchhashakti—The power of will, or force in producing manifestation.
   4. Kriyashakti—The force which materialises the ideal.
   5. Kundalini shakti—The force which adjusts internal relations to the external.
   6. Mantrikashakti—The force latent in sound, speech and music.
These six are synthesised by their Primary, the Seventh.
{41} The Secret Doctrine says that:—
It is on the Hierarchies and the correct number of these Entities that the mystery of the universe is built.
Ten—The line and the circle. The symbol of the Heavenly Men. —S. D., I, 117.
   The ten are the arupa universe ------------------------- S. D., I, 125.
   The ten are manifested existence ---------------------- S. D., I, 467.
   The ten are sumtotal------------------------------------- S. D., I. 428.
Six—The six-pointed star. The subjective life and the objective form, overshadowed by Spirit.
   The six are the six forces of nature-------------------- S. D., I, 236.
   The six Heavenly Men ---------------------------------- S. D., I, 402.
   The six planes-------------------------------------------- S. D., I, 236.
   Force or energy, matter or substance, and Spirit.
   The six are the double triangle------------------------- S. D., I, 143.
   The six are the symbol of objectivity ----------------- S. D., II, 625.
   They are the deva aspect of manifestation ----------- S. D., I, 241.
Five—This is the pentagon, the Makara, the five pointed Star. Compare S. D., I, 218, 219.
   Five is the symbol of a planetary Logos -------------- S. D., II, 618.
   Five is the symbol of the microcosm------------------ S. D., II, 608.
   Five is the symbol of creation-------------------------- S. D., II. 613.
   It is the second and the third Logos united in evolution.
In the merging of the five and the six you have the totality of manifestation, the male and female blended in the Divine Hermaphrodite. Summing up, S. D., I, 235-239. II, 610, 638.
   The first order The essential Lives. Spirit. The Self.
   The sixth order The objective form. Matter. The Not-Self.
   The fifth order Intelligence. Manas. The relation between.

♦

<15> (A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, pp. 406-407.)

"... Viewing manas as the vibratory activity of all atoms and narrowing our concept down to our own scheme it is interesting to note that some correspondences can be traced as we study this fifth principle during the present round, the fourth. The manasic principle is the basis of the coming into activity and the mental recognition of the following facts in nature.

The fifth spirilla within the atom of matter will become active. This fifth spirilla is beginning faintly to vibrate, while the fourth spirilla in this fourth round is assuming a vibration that will cause the intense vitalisation of the vehicles, and eventually bring about the shattering of the form, and the subsequent escape of the Spirit into a form composed of matter which responds to the vibration of the fifth spirilla.

The fourth ether is coming into recognition, and along with it will come the knowledge of the lives which it embodies. Hence the success of spiritualistic endeavour, for the larger number of the average discarnate entities at this stage who are willing to make contact with the physical plane are clothed in matter of this ether. The devas of this ether will also come to be known before the end of this round, and alliance will be made between the fourth Creative Hierarchy of men, and the devas of the fourth ether.

The fourth plane, the buddhic, by the aid of manas, will gradually be realised. This will be done as manas is transmuted into wisdom. By a few in this round the fifth principle will be superseded by the principle of buddhi. Right on from now till the middle of the next round there will be an overlapping of the four and the five—manas and the buddhic principle—thus making the nine, or perfected man, the initiate.

It might also be remarked that more and more will the control of the fourth Kumara be evidenced and felt. On this I cannot enlarge, being only permitted to make the statement.

The consciousness of the mass of the human family will gradually pass on to the fourth subplane of the mental plane, and be more and more controlled by purely concrete mind. Unless this is paralleled by a steady influx of egos on to the buddhic plane in conscious activity, and thus out of the control of manas pure and simple, a very serious condition will have to be handled by the Hierarchy.

The work of the four Maharajahs who apportion karma within the ring-pass-not will reach its culminating point during the fourth round. In the next round, the work of the Lipikas who handle affairs in connection with our system outside the ring-pass-not will become more prominent. This is necessarily so, as the Lipika Lords dispense the law to those who have merged themselves with their divine principle, and are no longer held by the material forms of the three worlds. The Lords of Karma, or the Maharajahs, work with the sons of men in the three worlds, and through manasic principle. ..."

♦

<16> (A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, p. 413.)

"... Third. They are the agents for:

a. The Lord of a Ray as stated above.
b. The four Maharajahs.
c. The planetary Logos of Their own scheme.
d. The great Deva of the Earth planet.

They work with the law; They are the cognizers of the intelligent purpose of the planetary Logos, and know His plans; They are the vital activity of the planet, and in a subtle sense they are not only the Ray representatives but likewise the link between the chain and the scheme.

It might here be stated that the relative failure that was the fate of the Moon chain in our scheme has greatly handicapped Their work, and made it imperative for Them to employ drastic measures in order to offset that failure. Herein lies another clue to the world turmoil. ..."

♦

<17> (A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, pp. 446-447.)

"... During this same cycle, a transference of units from out of the animal kingdom into the human will proceed in the fifth chain and from thence on to another chain, thus producing a period of even greater activity than on our own globe. Similarly I may point out (even though it is not possible to give more than a hint) that the force of the cosmic Transferrer is being called into activity by the transference during this cycle of a special group of highly advanced units of the human and deva kingdoms (members of the occult Hierarchy) to another scheme altogether. Certain units also—from among the Lipika Lords—are taking advantage of this cosmic influence to transfer their activity to another system, giving place to others Who will work out the karma of the new age. The power of these agencies permeates the entire globe and extends throughout the chains and schemes which lie in the line of its path. It will fundamentally affect the vegetable kingdom, obscuring old types and bringing in new; it will work in the mineral kingdom and give a new impetus to the chemical processes, causing incidentally a setting loose of radioactive units, and a consequent accretion of knowledge by the scientist. In the elemental kingdoms and the group souls found therein, it produces facility in the transference of atoms. ..."

♦

<18> (A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, pp. 467-469.)

"... The devas of the ethers, with which we are most concerned, will be affected in several ways, and the results upon the other evolutions will be far-reaching. We must remember always that the devas are the qualities and attributes of matter, the active builders, who work consciously or unconsciously upon the plane. Here I would point out that all the devas of the higher levels of the mental plane, for instance, and of the systemic planes from there on to the centre (the divine plane, the plane of the Logos, sometimes called Adi) co-operate consciously, and are of high rank in the system, and of position equal to all the ranks and grades of the Hierarchy from a first degree initiate up to, but not including, the Lord of the World Himself. Below these higher levels, where the concrete is touched, we have lesser grades of devas who work unconsciously, with the following exceptions, who are conscious forces and entities and of high position:

a. The Raja-lord of a plane.

b. Seven devas who work under Him, and are the entities who inform the matter of the seven subplanes.

c. Fourteen representatives of the Rays, Who cycle into and out of power, according to the Ray, waxing or waning.

d. Four devas who are the plane representatives of the four Maharajahs (the Lords of Karma) and are the focal points for karmic influence in connection with man. The four Maharajahs are the dispensers of karma to the Heavenly Men, and thus to the cells, centres, and organs of His body necessarily; but the whole system works through graded representatives; the same laws govern these agents of plane karma as govern the systemic and cosmic, and during plane manifestation they are, for instance, the only unit in form permitted to pass beyond the plane ring-pass-not. All other units in manifestation on a plane have to discard the vehicle through which they function before they can pass on to subtler levels. ..."

♦

<19> (A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, p. 517.)

"... The permanent atom is one that has been appropriated by one of the lives that form the centres in the body of a solar Lord, whilst atomic matter per se goes to the formation of other parts of His great body of light.

A permanent atom is one which has come under the attractive power of the second aspect, whilst atomic matter itself is vitalised by the life of the third aspect.

A permanent atom follows the line of the least resistance of force, and is passing out of the control of the Deva Lord and coming under the control of positive life. This concerns the evolution of consciousness in substance.

A permanent atom comes under the direct control of the lower of the three groups of Lipika Lords, and is the agency through which They work in the imposition of karma upon the particular entity who may be utilising it. They work directly with the permanent atoms of men, and produce results through the agency of form until they have exhausted the vibratory capacity of any particular atom; when this is the case the atom passes into the stage of obscuration, as does the seventh principle of any sheath. It comes under the influence of the first aspect, manifesting as the Destroyer. ..."

♦

<20> (A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, p. 569-570.)

"... b. Seven Systemic Laws.—Subsidiary to the three major laws, we find the seven laws of our solar system. Again we find the law of analogy elucidating, and the three becoming the seven as elsewhere in the logoic scheme. In each of these seven laws we find an interesting correlation with the seven planes. They are:

1. The Law of Vibration, the basis of manifestation, starting on the first plane. This is the atomic law of the system, in the same sense that on each of our planes the first subplane is the atomic plane.

2. The law of Cohesion. On the second plane cohesion is first apparent. It is the first molecular plane of the system, and is the home of the Monad. Divine coherency is demonstrated.

3. The Law of Disintegration. On the third plane comes the final casting-off, the ultimate shedding of the sheaths, of the fivefold superman. A Chohan of the sixth Initiation discards all the sheaths beneath the monadic vehicle, from the atmic to the physical.

4. The Law of Magnetic Control holds sway paramountly on the buddhic plane, and in the development of the control of this law lies hid the control of the personality by the Monad via the egoic body.

5. The Law of Fixation demonstrates principally on the mental plane and has a close connection with manas, the fifth principle. The mind controls and stabilises, and cohereney is the result.

6. The Law of Love is the law of the astral plane. It aims at the transmutation of the desire nature, and links it up with the greater magnetism of the love aspect on the buddhic plane.

7. The Law of Sacrifice and Death is the controlling factor on the physical plane. The destruction of the form, in order that the evolving life may progress, is one of the fundamental methods in evolution.

The Intermediate Law of Karma.—There is also an intermediate law, which is the synthetic law of the system of Sirius. This law is called by the generic term, the Law of Karma, and really predicates the effect the Sirian system has on our solar system. Each of the two systems, as regards its internal economy, is independent in time and space, or (in other words), in manifestation. We have practically no effect on our parent system, the reflex action is so slight as to be negligible, but very definite effects are felt in our system through causes arising in Sirius. These causes, when experienced as effects, are called by us the Law of Karma, and at the beginning they started systemic Karma which, once in effect, constitutes that which is called Karma in our occult and oriental literature.

The Lipika Lords of our system, the systemic Lords of Karma, are under the rule of a greater corresponding Lord on Sirius. ..."