Theos-Talk Archives (January 1995 Message tl00055)

This is by Eldon Tucker

       Following are a few more comments on the nature of planes and
       existence, in further discussion with Jerry Schueler of the
       position that I am presenting.

---- The Race to the Top

       It is true that each plane that we descend into, going lower
       and lower into materiality, takes us one step further from
       our divine source. There is something lost, something
       forgotten, something sacrificed with each further descent.
       On any planet, like our earth, we reach the lowest point on
       Globe D, beyond which we can go no lower. This is were we
       are now: the earth we see about us is Globe D, on the
       physical plane.

       What we have in life is an outpost of consciousness. We are
       pioneers in exploring new territory. Being able to exist on
       a low plane is both a limitation and a special opportunity.
       We have a special opportunity to "fetch water and chop
       firewood" or to "clean our dishes after eating." Unlike in a
       dream where we can wipe the slate clean and go from one
       situation to the next at the blink of an eye, in physical
       life, we are both limited and accountable for our actions.
       What we do is narrowly defined, and the results that
    come from our actions are likewise enforced by surrounding
    nature.  We are "stuck" in situations and limited, but at the
    same time we have an ideal situation for the development of a
    clarity of consciousness.

       In some approaches like Yoga, the approach seems to be union
       with the divine along with a rapid escape from the physical
       world. The outer world is seen as evil, illusory, a place of
       sorrows that should be exited as quickly as possible. The
       union with the divine is seen as happening by the exiting of
       lower planes of existence.

       The Zen approach is closer to the theosophical scheme of
       spiritual evolution. In Zen, we learn to stay firmly rooted
       in the outer world, and achieve union with the divine *here*,
       rather than leave the outer world to achieve union *there*.
       With Zen, we have the higher conscious as an integral part of
       our outer lives; the other approach gives us a vacation to
       other planes and a visit to the higher consciousness, but
       upon our return to physical life it is lost to us again.

       What are we doing here on the physical plane? What is the
       purpose of evolution on this plane of existence? It is the
       same as on any plane, on any Globe of our planetary chain.
       We harvest the precious crop of self-consciousness, something
       only possible *here*. This opportunity is lost when the exit
       the physical world, between lifetimes.

       Is the physical plane the only one where we can achieve this
       harvesting of self-consciousness? No. But the conditions for
       learning and growing in the human kingdom are here. The
       Human Lifewave is on Globe D, our world as we know it here on
       the physical plane. This is where the circumstances and
       superstructure for growth and learning and evolution is
       possible for the vast majority of humanity.

       Are we safe here, on the physical plane? Is it simply a
       matter of leading good lives and fitting in with society? Not
       entirely. In a sense, we are in "enemy territory," since our
       world borders on yet lower planes. On the Descending Arc, as
       humanity moves from Globes A, to B, C, then D, it reaches a
       turning point. It then enters the Ascending Arc, and climbs
       the planes again along Globes E, F, then G. At the lowest
       point, on Globe D, when then Descend Arc is ending and the
       Ascending Arc is beginning to start, there is a point of
       failure in the system, and some Monads fail to make the
       Ascending Arc; they descend further to yet lower planes.
       (See "Fundamentals of the Esoteric Philosophy" by G. de
       Purucker for more information on this.)

       At the point of time, our evolution is on Globe D earth. Our
       challenge is to give expression to the highest in our lives.
       Inwardly, we express it in an awareness in our minds and
       hearts. Outwardly, we express it in our actions, giving
       direct expression to the brilliant, creative intelligence
       within ourselves. There is a supreme gratification to giving
       outer, tangible expression to the divine, for it is otherwise
       impotent and unrelated to our lowly plane!

       Living here on the lowest plane of our earth, don't we miss
       out on anything? There's so much more going on elsewhere; the
       higher planes await us with such wonders, that we certainly
       should return to them as soon as reasonably possible? Not
       really. No matter how high we go, there are yet higher
       planes. We never reach a top. The experiences of the
       loftiest plane of which we can conceive of pales by
       comparison to yet higher planes.

       No matter how high we go, there are countless higher planes
       to rise to; there is no top, nor a finite number of steps
       upwards after which we directly reach the Unknowable. How do
       we ever reach it, then, if it is not by going higher and
       higher? We reach it by connecting *in a different direction
       than up or down.* We reach it by both a realization that it
       is as much an integral part of our consciousness now as it
       ever will be. The realization comes that the connection is
       never lost, never missed, and not subject to approach over
       time. We become *rooted* in the Unknowable, and then express
       the highest, with dignity, on whatever plane that we reside.
       The urgent need to hurry off to higher planes is replaced
       with a peaceful, holy, gentle appreciation of life wherein
       the craving for union with the divine is finally satisfied.
       We have reached the top, in a special way, and now we are
       content to live it out.