In connection with this final section of the Treatise on Cosmic Fire, dealing with the Electric Fire of Spirit it should be remembered that it will be quite impossible to impart information of a definite character; this subject is considered (from the standpoint of the esoteric student) to be devoid of form and therefore incognisable by the lower concrete mind. The nature of Spirit can only be intelligibly revealed to the higher grades of the initiates, that is, to those who (through the medium of the work effected in the third Initiation) have been put in conscious contact with their "Father in Heaven," the Monad. Esoteric students, disciples and the initiates of lower degree are developing contact with the soul, or the second aspect, and only when this contact is firmly established can the higher concept be entertained. The nature of Spirit is dealt with in the New Testament in one of the esoteric statements addressed by the Great Lord to the initiate, Nicodemus. As he was an initiate of the second degree it may be supposed that he had some glimmering of understanding as to the meaning of the words, which were spoken to him as part of his training in preparation for the third Initiation.

"The wind (prana or Spirit) bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof but canst not tell whence it cometh nor whither it goeth. So is everyone that is born of the Spirit."

Two ideas are conveyed in this thought-form, – those of an emanating sound and direction, and that which is [1231] the result of the sound. This is evolution and the effect of the directing energy or activity of Spirit. From the point of view of consciousness these are the only things which the disciple can intelligently comprehend.

All that it will be possible for us to do in this section will be to impart the truth in three ways. Through the illumination of the student's mind as he studies the stanzas of Dzyan which will be found at the commencement of the treatise. Secondly, through the realization that will come to the student as he correlates and ponders upon the various occult fragments found scattered through the pages, primarily centering his attention upon the following words:

"The secret of the Fire lies hid in the second letter of the Sacred Word. The mystery of life is concealed within the heart. When the lower point vibrates, when the Sacred Triangle glows, when the point, the middle center and the apex, connect and circulate the Fire, when the threefold apex likewise burns, then the two triangles – the greater and the lesser – merge into one Flame, which burneth up the whole."

Thirdly, through the consideration of the various charts and word pictures which will be found also scattered through the Treatise. The student of the new era will approach much that he has to master through the medium of the eye, learning thereby to appreciate and solve that which is presented to him in the form of lines and diagrams. All is symbol and these symbols must be mastered.

It must also be borne in mind that students who approach the subject of SPIRIT need to grasp the following facts.

1. Whilst in manifestation and therefore during the period of an entire solar system, it is not possible for the highest Dhyan Chohan to think in terms of the negation of organized substance and of the non-existence of form. The goal of realization for man is consciousness of the nature of the Soul, the medium through which the Spirit [1232] aspect, ever works. More it is not possible for him to do. Having learnt to function as the soul, detached from the three worlds, man then becomes a conscious corporate active part of that Soul which permeates and pervades all that is in manifestation. Then, and only then, the pure light of Spirit per se becomes visible to him through a just appreciation of the Jewel hidden at the heart of his own being; then only does he become aware of that greater Jewel which lies hidden at the heart of solar manifestation. Even then at that advanced stage all that he can be aware of, can contact and visualize, is the light which emanates from the Jewel and the radiance which veils the inner glory.

   The seer (see-er) has then become pure vision. He perceives but as yet comprehends not the nature of that which is perceived, and it remains for another solar system and another kalpa to reveal to him the meaning of that revelation, the source of that illumination, and the essence of that Life whose quality is known to him already by its vibratory rate, its heat and its light. Needless it is, therefore, for us to study and consider that which the initiate of high degree can only dimly sense; useless it is for us to seek for terms to express that which lies safely hidden behind all ideas and all thought, when thought itself is not perfectly understood, and the machinery for comprehension is not perfected. Man himself – a great idea and a specific one – knows not the nature of that which he is seeking to express.

   All that we can do is to apprehend the fact that there exists THAT which may not as yet be defined, to realize that a central life persists which permeates and animates the Soul and which seeks to utilize the form through which the soul expresses itself. This can be stated to be true of all forms, of all souls, human, subhuman, planetary and solar. [1233]

2. The wise student will likewise regard all forms of expression as in the nature of symbols. A symbol has three interpretations; it is itself an expression of an idea, and that idea has behind it, in its turn, a purpose inconceivable as yet. The three interpretations of a symbol might be considered in the following way:
   1. The exoteric interpretation of a symbol is based largely upon its objective utility, and upon the nature of the form. That which is exoteric and substantial serves two purposes:
      1. To give some faint indications as to the idea or the concept. This links the symbol in its exoteric nature with the mental plane, but does not release it from the three worlds of human appreciation.
      2. To limit and confine and imprison the idea and so adapt it to the point in evolution which the solar Logos, the planetary Logos and man have reached. The true nature of the latent idea is ever more potent, complete and full than the form or symbol through which it is seeking expression. Matter is but a symbol of a central energy. Forms of all kinds in all the kingdoms of nature, and the manifested sheaths in their widest connotation and totality are only symbols of life – what that Life itself may be remains as yet a mystery.
      These exoteric symbolic forms are of many kinds and serve many purposes, and this is largely responsible for the confusion in the minds of men on these matters. All symbols emanate from three groups of Creators:
      • The solar Logos, Who is constructing a "Temple in the Heavens not made with hands."
      • The Planetary Logoi, who – in Their seven groups – create through seven ways and methods, and thus produce a diversity of symbols and are responsible for concretion. [1234]
      • Man, who builds forms and creates symbols in his work of every day, but who as yet works blindly and largely unconsciously. Nevertheless, he merits the name of creator, because he utilizes the faculty of mind and employs the rational quality.
      The lesser devas and all the subhuman entities and all those builders who must in some distant future pass through the human state of consciousness are not regarded as creators. They work under impulses emanating from the other three groups. Each of the three groups is free within certain specified limits.
   2. The subjective interpretation is the one which reveals the idea lying behind the objective manifestation. This idea, incorporeal in itself, becomes a concretion on the plane of objectivity, and as stated above, an idea lies behind every form without exception and no matter which group of creators is responsible for its construction. These ideas become apparent to the student after he has entered the Hall of Learning, just as the exoteric form of the symbol is all that is noted by the man who is as yet in the Hall of Ignorance. As soon as a man begins to use his mental apparatus and has made even a small contact with his ego three things occur:
      1. He reaches out beyond the form and seeks to account for it.
      2. He arrives in time at the soul which every form veils, and this he does through a knowledge of his own soul.
      3. He begins then himself to formulate ideas in the occult sense of the term and to create and make manifest that soul-energy or substance which he finds he can manipulate.
      To train people to work in mental matter is to train them to create; to teach people to know the nature of the [1235] soul is to put them in conscious touch with the subjective side of manifestation and to put into their hands the power to work with soul energy; to enable people to unfold the potencies of the soul aspect is to put them en rapport with the forces and energies hidden in the akasha and the anima. mundi.

      A man can then (as his soul contact and his subjective perception is strengthened and developed) become a conscious creator, cooperating with the plans of the Hierarchy of Adepts who work with ideas, and who seek to bring these ideas (planetary ideas) into manifestation upon the physical plane. As he passes through the different grades in the Hall of Learning his ability so to work and his capacity to get at the thought lying behind all symbols increases. He is no longer taken in by the appearance but knows it as the illusory form which veils and imprisons some thought.

   3. The spiritual meaning is that which lies behind the subjective sense and which is veiled by the idea or thought just as the idea itself is veiled by the form it assumes when in exoteric manifestation. This can be regarded as the purpose which prompted the idea and led to its emanation into the world of forms. It is the central dynamic energy which is responsible for the subjective activity.

      These three aspects of a symbol can be studied in connection with all atomic forms. There is, for instance, that unit of energy which we call the atom of the physicist or chemist. It has itself a form which is the symbol of the energy which produces it. This form of the atom is its exoteric manifestation. There are likewise those atomic aspects which we call – for lack of a better term – the electrons; these electrons are largely responsible for the quality of any particular atom, just as the soul of a man is responsible for his peculiar nature. They represent the subjective aspect or life. Then, finally, there is the positive aspect, the energy responsible for the coherence [1236] of the whole and for the uniformity of the dual manifestation, exoteric and subjective. This is analogous to the spiritual meaning, and who can read that meaning?

      In man likewise, the human atom, these three aspects are found. Man on the physical plane is the exoteric symbol of an inner subjective idea which is possessed of quality and attributes and a form through which it seeks expression. That soul in its turn is the result of a spiritual impulse, but who shall say what that impulse is? Who as yet shall define the purpose behind the soul or idea, whether logoic or human? All these three factors are yet in process of evolution; all are as yet "imperfect Gods," each in their degree and therefore unable to express fully that which is the spiritual factor lying behind the conscious soul.

3. The wise student will also ponder well the words "the mystery of electricity," which is the mystery surrounding that process which is responsible for the production of light and therefore of vibration itself. We have concerned ourselves in the other two sections primarily with effects, with the results produced through the operation of the subjective side of nature (that alone which the occultist considers and works with) and the consequent production of objective manifestation. Now we arrive at the realization that there is a cause lying behind that which has hitherto itself been regarded as a cause, for we discover that behind all subjective phenomena there lies an essentially spiritual incentive. This incentive, this latent spiritual cause, is the object of the attention of the spiritual man. The man of the world is occupied with objective phenomena, with that which can be seen, be touched, and handled; the occult student is engaged in studying the subjective side of life, and is occupied with the forces which produce all that is familiar [1237] upon the terrestrial plane. These forces fall into three main groups:
   1. Forces emanating from the mental plane in its two divisions.
   2. Forces of a kamic nature.
   3. Forces of a purely physical description.
   These the occult student studies, experiments with, manipulates and correlates; through the knowledge thus gained there comes an understanding of all that can be known in the three worlds, and likewise an understanding of his own nature.

   The spiritual man is he who having been both a man of the world and an occult student has reached the conclusion that behind all those causes with which he has been hitherto engaged is a CAUSE; this causal unity then becomes the goal of his search. This is the mystery lying behind all mysteries; this is the secret of which all that has hitherto been known and conceived is but the veil; this is the heart of the Unknown which holds hid the purpose and the key to all that is, and which is only put into the hands of those exalted Beings Who – having worked their way through the manifold web of life – know Themselves indeed and in truth to be Atma, or Spirit itself, and veritable sparks in the one great Flame.

   Three times the cry goes out to all the Pilgrims upon the Path of Life: "Know thyself" is the first great injunction and long is the process of attaining that knowledge. "Know the Self" comes next and when that is achieved, man knows not only himself but all selves; the soul of the universe is to him no longer the sealed book of life but one with the seven seals broken. Then when the man stands adept, the cry goes forth "Know the One" and the words ring in the adepts' ears: "Search for that which is the responsible Cause, and having known the [1240] soul, and its expression, form, search for THAT which the soul reveals."

   Here is to be found the clue to the search which the adept or perfected man undertakes when He puts His foot upon one of the seven possible paths. The only way in which any light can be thrown upon the mystery lies in the consideration of those seven cosmic Paths, of their names, and symbols. Very little can be said for the secrets of the higher initiations may not be revealed, nor the information given in a book for exoteric publication. All that can be done is to make certain suggestions, caution against certain conclusions, and indicate certain symbols which, if pondered upon, may bring a certain amount of illumination. [1241]