The Secret Doctrine by H.
P.
Blavatsky -- Vol.
1 [[Vol.
1, Page]] 170 THE SECRET DOCTRINE.
[[This page continued from previous section ]] ADDITIONAL FACTS AND EXPLANATIONS CONCERNING THE GLOBES AND THE MONADS.
Two statements made in "Esoteric Buddhism" must be noticed and the author's opinions quoted.
On p.
47 (fifth edition) it is said: -- " .
.
.
the spiritual monads .
.
.
do not fully complete their mineral existence on Globe A, then complete it on Globe B, and so on.
They pass several times round the whole circle as minerals, and then again several times round as vegetables, and several times as animals.
We purposely refrain for the present from going into figures," etc., etc.
This was a wise course to adopt in view of the great secrecy maintained with regard to figures and numbers.
This reticence is now partially relinquished; but it would perhaps have been better had the real numbers concerning Rounds and evolutional gyrations been either entirely divulged at the time, or as entirely withheld.
Mr.
Sinnett understood this difficulty well when saying (p.
140) that: "For reasons which are not easy for the outsider to divine, the possessors of occult knowledge are especially reluctant to give out facts relating to Cosmogony, though it is hard for the uninitiated to understand why they should be withheld." That there were such reasons is evident.
Nevertheless, it is to this reticence that most of the confused ideas of some Eastern as well as Western pupils are due.
The difficulties in the way of the acceptance of the two particular tenets under consideration seemed great, just because of the absence of any data to go upon.
But there it was.
For the figures belonging to the Occult calculations cannot be given -- as the Masters have many times declared -- outside the circle of pledged chelas, and not even these can break the rules.
To make things plainer, without touching upon the mathematical aspects of the doctrine, the teaching given may be expanded and some obscure [[Vol.
1, Page]] 171 THE MYSTERY OF THE MOON, UNVEILED.
points solved.
As the evolution of the Globes and that of the Monads are so closely interblended, we will make of the two teachings one.
In reference to the Monads, the reader is asked to bear in mind that Eastern philosophy rejects the Western theological dogma of a newly-created soul for every baby born, as being as unphilosophical as it is impossible in the economy of Nature.
There must be a limited number of Monads evolving and growing more and more perfect through their assimilation of many successive personalities, in every new Manvantara.
This is absolutely necessary in view of the doctrines of Rebirth, Karma, and the gradual return of the human Monad to its source -- absolute Deity .
Thus, although the hosts of more or less progressed Monads are almost incalculable, they are still finite, as is everything in this Universe of differentiation and finiteness.
As shown in the double diagram of the human "principles" and the ascending Globes of the world-chains, there is an eternal concatenation of causes and effects, and a perfect analogy which runs through, and links together, all the lines of evolution.
One begets the other -- globes as personalities.
But, let us begin at the beginning.
The general outline of the process by which the successive planetary chains are formed has just been given.
To prevent future misconceptions, some further details may be offered which will also throw light on the history of humanity on our own chain, the progeny of that of the Moon.
In the diagrams on p.
172, Fig.
1 represents the "lunar-chain" of seven planets at the outset of its seventh or last Round; while Fig.
2 represents the "earth-chain" which will be, but is not yet in existence.
The seven Globes of each chain are distinguished in their cyclic order by the letters A to G, the Globes of the Earth-chain being further marked by a cross -- + -- the symbol of the Earth.
Now, it must be remembered that the Monads cycling round any septenary chain are divided into seven classes or hierarchies according to their respective stages of evolution, consciousness, and merit.
Let us follow, then, the order of their appearance on planet A, in the first Round.
The time-spaces between the appearances of these hierarchies on any one Globe are so adjusted that when Class 7, the last, appears on Globe A, Class 1, the first, has just passed on to Globe B, and so on, step by step, all round the chain.
Again, in the Seventh Round on the Lunar chain, when Class 7, the [[Vol.
1, Page]] 172 THE SECRET DOCTRINE.
last, quits Globe A, that Globe, instead of falling asleep, as it had done in previous Rounds, begins to die (to go into its planetary pralaya);* and in dying it transfers successively, as just said, its "principles," or life-elements and energy, etc., one after the other to a new "laya-centre," which commences the formation of Globe A of the Earth Chain.
A similar process takes place for each of the Globes of the "lunar chain" one after the other, each forming a fresh Globe of the "earth-chain." Our Moon was the fourth Globe of the series, and was on the same plane of perception as our Earth.
But Globe A of the lunar chain is not fully "dead" till the first Monads of the first class have passed from Globe G or Z, the last of the "lunar chain," into the Nirvana [[Footnote(s)]] ------------------------------------------------- * Occultism divides the periods of Rest (Pralaya) into several kinds; there is the individual pralaya of each Globe, as humanity and life pass on to the next; seven minor Pralayas in each Round; the planetary Pralaya, when seven Rounds are completed; the Solar Pralaya, when the whole system is at an end; and finally the Universal Maha -- or Brahma -- Pralaya at the close of the "Age of Brahma." These are the three chief pralayas or "destruction periods." There are many other minor ones, but with these we are not concerned at present.
[[Vol.
1, Page]] 173 THE EARTH, THE CHILD OF THE MOON.
which awaits them between the two chains; and similarly for all the other Globes as stated, each giving birth to the corresponding globe of the "earth-chain." Further, when Globe A of the new chain is ready, the first class or Hierarchy of Monads from the Lunar chain incarnate upon it in the lowest kingdom, and so on successively.
The result of this is, that it is only the first class of Monads which attains the human state of development during the first Round, since the second class, on each planet, arriving later, has not time to reach that stage.
The doctrine of the periodic restoration or recurrence of all things to their original state after vast cycles.
The multi-level pralaya system (individual, planetary, solar, universal) and the cyclical Rounds describe periodic restoration of the cosmos to rest and renewal after vast cycles.
The Hermetic axiom that the structure of the cosmos is reflected at every scale — 'as above, so below; as within, so without' — making each level a legible map of the others.
The passage explicitly states 'a perfect analogy which runs through, and links together, all the lines of evolution. One begets the other — globes as personalities.'
Narratives or doctrines of cosmic origin — how heaven, earth, and the primordial deities first came into being. The Kojiki's deities born alone on the Plain of High Heaven, Voluspo's Ginnungagap, Genesis's tohu wa-bohu, the Timaeus's Demiurge fashioning the Receptacle, the Hesiodic Theogony, the Kalevala's egg-cosmogony, Egyptian Nun-and-Atum. Distinct from emanation_hierarchy (structural-ontological cascade), letters_of_creation (mechanism of creation), and apocatastasis/frashokereti (end-state restoration); cosmogony is temporally-narrative beginning.
The passage narrates how the lunar chain of globes dies and gives birth to the earth chain, describing the origin and formation of planetary systems.
Fragments of divine light or spirit trapped inside material bodies, awaiting liberation and return to their source.
Monads are described as finite entities evolving from a source (absolute Deity) through material existence, awaiting their eventual return to that source — the classic divine-spark-in-matter pattern.
A historical or mythical chain of transmission for secret wisdom from master to disciple across time and cultures — the credential of the teaching, not merely its content. Distinct from oral_tradition (the spoken-not-written modality of transmission, which a lineage may or may not use) and hidden_sayings (the concealment-for-readiness of a teaching's meaning, independent of who transmitted it or in what unbroken chain).
The reference to 'the Masters' who have declared the rules and 'pledged chelas' implies a chain of transmission for this occult knowledge.
Esoteric teachings reserved for those ready to receive them; outer meaning conceals an inner liberating truth.
The passage extensively discusses the deliberate concealment of occult knowledge, the reluctance of Masters to divulge figures, and the 'great secrecy maintained with regard to figures and numbers.'
The doctrine that the divine or a spiritual principle takes on a specific, bounded material or bodily form — descending from an unconditioned state into individual, corporeal existence — as a discrete act rather than a diffuse pervading presence. The Christian Word made flesh, the Hindu avatara, the Egyptian pharaoh as living Horus, the Vajrayana tulku. Distinct from divine_immanence (the general claim that the divine pervades all of creation diffusely, not a specific embodiment-event) and separation_from_source (the felt exile FROM origin, the opposite motion) in describing a specific, individuated descent INTO a particular body or form.
The passage explicitly uses the term 'incarnate' when describing Monads taking up residence on globes in successive kingdoms, as discrete acts of descent into material form.
A non-physical dimension of reality, interpenetrating the physical world, populated by forces, beings, and forms ordinarily imperceptible to physical senses and instruments, that can affect embodied life without being seen — Dion Fortune's 'mind-side of nature,' the astral plane of Western esotericism broadly construed. Distinct from astral_light (a specific transmitting medium or fluid operating within this realm, not the realm itself), pleroma (the divine fullness at the summit of a cosmic hierarchy, not a parallel plane coextensive with ordinary life), and animism (particular indwelling spirits bound to specific natural objects, not the general unseen dimension itself).
The passage describes laya-centres, life-elements, and subtle processes of globes dying and transferring principles that operate on a non-physical plane of perception.
The doctrine that the cosmos unfolds as a structured descent of spirit into matter — a directional process traced stage by stage from an unconditioned principle down through successive planes to full materialization — complemented by its own eventual return ('evolution'). Distinct from emanation_hierarchy (the static structure of the resulting levels of the cascade) and cosmogony (a single originating event rather than an ongoing staged process) in naming the directional cosmic PROCESS of descent itself, paired with its own complementary ascent.
The passage describes Monads descending through successive kingdoms (mineral to vegetable to animal to human) and globes transferring their principles to new globes in a structured directional process.
The human being as a small-scale image of the entire cosmos; the body, soul, and intellect mirroring the structure of the heavens and the divine — distinct from correspondence in that it makes the human the privileged mirror.
The evolution of individual Monads (personalities) is mapped directly onto the evolution of globes (planetary chains), making the human a small-scale image of the cosmic.
The absolutely simple, undivided first principle from which all multiplicity and existence flows.
The entire passage is structured around the evolution, classification, and cyclical movement of Monads through globes and kingdoms, making the monad the central subject.
Numbers, proportions, and mathematical relationships as the underlying structure of divine reality.
The passage is saturated with numerological structure: seven globes (A–G), seven classes/hierarchies, seven rounds, septenary chains, and the secrecy surrounding 'figures and numbers' as sacred.
The Hermetic doctrine of a measured swing or pendulum motion between poles — action and reaction, flow and outflow, rise and fall — operating in mental, physical, and cosmic-historical registers alike. Distinct from apocatastasis (cosmic-scale eschatological restoration after vast cycles) in naming a constant, ever-present oscillation rather than a singular restorative event.
The cyclical Rounds, the alternating periods of activity and pralaya (rest), and the pendulum-like cycling of Monads through the septenary chain all express rhythmic oscillation.
Organized, persisting groups — fraternities, orders, lodges — that maintain esoteric knowledge or practices as an institution distinct from public religion or mainstream society, holding 'the keys' collectively rather than through any one master-disciple pair. Distinct from esoteric_lineage (a genealogical chain of individual transmission, not an institution) and hidden_sayings (the concealment of a teaching's meaning, independent of whether any organized body holds it).
The 'circle of pledged chelas' who alone may receive the numerical data suggests an organized body holding esoteric knowledge collectively.
Monads are described as passing through mineral, vegetable, animal, and human kingdoms across multiple rounds and globes, which is a detailed account of transmigration.