Page 80 (part 5)

In the oldest portions of the Rig Veda, they are the spiritual and the divine , the term Asura being used for the Supreme Spirit and being the same as the great Ahura of the Zoroastrians. (See Darmesteter's V ENDIDAD). There was a time when the gods Indra, Agni, and Varuna themselves belonged to the Asuras. In the Aitareya Brahmana, the breath ( asu ) of Brahma-Prajapati became alive, and from that breath he created the Asuras. Later on, after the war, the Asuras are called the enemies of the gods, hence -- "A-suras," the initial "A" being a negative prefix -- or " no -gods" -- the "gods" being referred to as "Suras." This then connects the Asuras and their "Hosts," enumerated further on, with the "Fallen Angels" of the Christian Churches, a hierarchy of spiritual Beings to be found in every Pantheon of ancient and even modern nations -- from the Zoroastrian down to that of the Chinaman. They are the sons of the primeval Creative Breath at the beginning of every new Maha Kalpa, or Manvantara; in the same rank as the Angels who had remained "faithful." These were the allies of Soma (the parent of the Esoteric Wisdom ) as against Brihaspati (representing ritualistic or ceremonial [[Footnote(s)]] ------------------------------------------------- [[Continued from previous page]] course, trusted as far in advance of the Hindu Knowledge, at any time, in any generation." Which is Mr. Bentley's misfortune, and does not take away from the glory of the ancient Hindu astronomers, who were all Initiates. * The Secret Doctrine teaches that every event of universal importance, such as geological cataclysms at the end of one race and the beginning of a new one, involving a great change each time in mankind, spiritual, moral and physical -- is pre-cogitated and preconcerted, so to say, in the sidereal regions of our planetary system. Astrology is built wholly upon this mystic and intimate connection between the heavenly bodies and mankind; and it is one of the great secrets of Initiation and Occult mysteries. [[Vol. 2, Page]] 501 SARPAS -- SERPENTS -- NAGAS. worship). Evidently they have been degraded in Space and Time into opposing powers or demons by the ceremonialists, on account of their rebellion against hypocrisy, sham-worship, and the dead-letter form. Now what is the real character of all those who fought along with them? They are (1) the Usanas, or the "host" of the planet Venus, become now in Roman Catholicism -- Lucifer, the genius of the "morning star" (see Isaiah xiv., 12), the tsaba, or army of "Satan." (2) The Daityas and Danavas are the Titans, the demons and giants whom we find in the Bible ( Gen. vi.) -- the progeny of the "Sons of God" and the "Daughters of Men." Their generic name shows their alleged character, and discloses at the same time the secret animus of the Brahmins: for they are the Krati-dwishas -- the "enemies of the sacrifices" or exoteric shams. These are the "hosts" that fought against Brihaspati, the representative of exoteric popular and national religions; and Indra -- the god of the visible heaven, the firmament, who, in the early Veda, is the highest god of Cosmic heaven, the fit habitation for an extra -Cosmic and personal God, higher than whom no exoteric worship can ever soar. (3) Then come the Nagas,* the Sarpa (serpents or Seraphs). These, again, show their character by the hidden meaning of their glyph. In Mythology they are semi-divine beings with a human face and the tail of a Dragon. They are therefore, undeniably, the Jewish seraphim (from Serapis and Sarpa, Serpent); the plural being saraph, "burning, fiery" (See Isaiah, vi. 23). Christian and Jewish angelology distinguishes between the Seraphim and the Cherubim or Cherubs, who come second in order; esoterically, and Kabalistically, they are identical; the cherubim being simply the name for the images or likenesses of any of the divisions of the celestial hosts. Now, as said before, the Dragons and Nagas were the names given to the Initiates-hermits, on account of their great Wisdom and Spirituality and their living in caves. Thus, when Ezekiel applies the adjective of Cherub to the King of Tyre, and tells him that by his wisdom and his understanding there is no secret that can be hidden from him (v. 3, 4, xxviii.), he shows to an Occultist that it is a "prophet," perhaps, still a follower of exoteric worship, who fulminates against an Initiate of another school and not against an imaginary Lucifer, a fallen cherub from the stars, and then from the garden of Eden. Thus the so-called "war" is, in one of its many meanings, also an allegorical record of the strife between the two classes of adepts -- of the right and of the left path. There were three classes of Rishis in India, who were [[Footnote(s)]] ------------------------------------------------- * The Nagas are described by the Orientalists as a mysterious people whose landmarks are found abundantly in India to this day, and who lived in Naga dwipa one of the Seven continents or divisions of Bharatavarsha (old India), the town of Nagpur being one of the most ancient cities in the country. [[Vol. 2, Page]] 502 THE SECRET DOCTRINE. the earliest adepts known; the royal, or Rajarshis, kings and princes, who adopted the ascetic life; the Devarshis, divine, or the sons of Dharma or Yoga; and Brahmarshis, descendants of those Rishis who were the founders of gotras of Brahmans, or caste-races. Now, leaving the mythical and astronomical keys for one moment aside, the secret teachings show many Atlanteans who belonged to these divisions; and there were strifes and wars between them, de facto and de jure. Narada, one of the greatest Rishis, was a Devarishi ; and he is shown in constant and everlasting feud with Brahma, Daksha, and other gods and sages. Therefore we may safely maintain that whatever the astronomical meaning of this universally accepted legend, its human phase is based on real and historical events, disfigured into a theological dogma only to suit ecclesiastical purposes. As above so below. Sidereal phenomena, and the behaviour of the celestial bodies in the heavens, were taken as a model, and the plan was carried out below, on earth.