The Spiritual Triad

2010-1-7 10:53:00

Esoteric-Metaphysical Glossary

  

Definition:

The Spiritual Triad is often referred to as the "Higher Self" or the"Higher Mind." Technically, it is a Triad composed of Atma-Buddhi-Manas. Manas means mind and refers to the higher part of the mental plane, the third plane of existence, the highest in the worlds of form -- the celestial.

Buddhi is the first of the formless worlds, the fourth plane in ascension. This is the carrier of ideas and is accessed through the intuition. The atmic is the fifth plane and is the source of eternal ideas and principles.

The lower Triad, completing the Star of David, is composed of the physical, astral and lower mind. It is important to note that the mind is that plane which is common to the two triads and is thus the key to bringing higher knowledge down to earth. Heaven and earth come together and is understood through the mind. Then the knowledge obtained is set upon its correct course through the desire for service registered in the heart.

[End Of Definition.]

  

Comments from readers:

Ruth writes:

"Atma-Budha-Manas
Electric fire, Solar fire, fire produced by friction
Light, Consciousness, Intelligence
Truth, Love/Wisdom, Mind
Positive, neutral, negative
Spirit, Soul, Body
Monad, Soul, Holy Ghost
Father, Son, Mother
Power, Love, Intelligence
Crown Chakra, Third Eye, Throat Chakra"

"Spirit:

"'Spiritual Monad The second monadic center in the descending scale of intimately related human monadic centers; in the septenary constitution, atma-buddhi- manas, with an emphasis on the buddhi-manas, atman being the divine monad. It is man's individual monad, the spiritual center of his own stream of consciousness, in the heart of which abides his inner god or 'Father in heaven.''

"'The human constitution is a composite or compound, and may be figurated . . . as a stream of consciousness flowing forth from the deathless Center or Spiritual Monad, which last is at once the immortal Root of the human being and his Essential Self (ET 718). It corresponds to the spiritual self or jivatman.'

"'After death, when the second death occurs, man's consciousness is withdrawn from the higher astral regions into the next superior sphere or plane -- the human monad is indrawn into the spiritual monad. Then occurs the state of devachan.'

"'Cosmically, the homogeneous emanation from the universal cosmic monad; in man, the direct emanation of his spiritual monad, the immortal element in us which never was born and which retains through the mahamanvantara its own quality, essence, and characteristics. It sends its ray through the laya-centers of all the various sheaths of consciousness- substance, and is itself a ray of the all-spirit is used specifically for the union of the higher part of manas with atma-buddhi.'

"'Triad:

"'A group of three, a triple unity, three-in-one, the number three; it represents the limits of ratiocinative thought, for we cannot go beyond the duality of subject and object, and must postulate a unitary essence common to both. A triad stands at the head of all great cosmogonies and philosophies: spirit-matter, Purusha-prakriti, subject-object, male-female, father-mother, motion-space, etc., plus the fundamental unity and source enclosing each emanated duad -- the ineffable, parabrahman, 'eyn soph, etc. Theosophy shows three distinct triadic representations of the universe, making nine, or with a synthesis ten: the ever-existing, the pre-existing, and the phenomenal, allegorized as the initial, the manifested, and the creative triads.'

"'Another form of the triad is that in which the unit is considered as the offspring of the duad, as in the familiar triad Father-Mother- Son; and thus we get a quaternary of the primordial triad with the manifested universe as Son. These two triads or triangles represent fire and water respectively; interlaced they make Solomon's seal or the seal of Vishnu. The triad and quaternary together make the septenate; the higher triad in man is atma-buddhi- manas; kama, prana, and linga-sarira make a lower triad. The triad and the quaternary here repeat the duality of spirit and matter, metaphysical and physical. The Qabbalistic Sephirothal Tree shows an upright triad, two inverted triads, and a synthesizing unit below called Malchuth.'

(http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/etgloss/tri-tz.htm)

  

"Spiritual Triad

"'As we approach building the kingdom of God, points will be reached where agreeing to disagree will not work, but will cause progress to come to a screeching halt. When this happens the Oneness Principle must come into play and the two will contact the Spirit through the Soul together. Then the Spirit, which is One, reveals the same thing to both of them at the same instant. Then two or more entities become as one mind, joined in the One mind of God.'

(http://www.freeread.com/archives/727.php)

Ruth:

"2+1=3 hence eventually the Earth will be transformed into spiritual triads or triangles."

  

"'This process of investigation, deduction and proof, the Science of Esoteric Astrology and its subsidiary sciences will eventually provide. The foundation is already laid. What I here give can provide another step forward and further light. It might here be stated that until the antahkarana (the bridge of light between the higher and the lower minds, between the Spiritual Triad and the threefold personality) is being definitely constructed, these sciences will remain obscure to the average intellect. Once, however, the intuition can come into action, via the antahkarana, light will gradually begin to pour in. The world must begin to accept and give weight to the conclusions of its intuitives; they have ever taken the first needed steps in the unfoldment of the human consciousness. It is the complexity of detail which primarily is responsible for the confusion. The intuition (as the philosopher understands it) is the ability to arrive at knowledge through the activity of some innate sense, apart from the reasoning or logical processes. It comes into activity when the resources of the lower mind have been used, explored and exhausted. Then, and then only, the true intuition begins to function. It is the sense of synthesis, the ability to think in wholes, and to touch the world of causes. When this becomes possible, the investigating astrologer will find that the complexities of the problem will disappear and the details fall into obvious position and in such a manner that the sumtotal will appear in a blinding light of surety. At present students cannot see the wood for the trees, as the proverb says, and that proverb is right. These sciences are mutually interpreting.'"

("Esoteric Astrology," by Alice A. Bailey)

Matthew writes:

"Antahkarana is the bridge that we are building to the connect us to the Spiritual Triad which is simple terms is spiritual will, spiritual love and the higher mind. Think of two triangles connected by there top points, the lower one would be where we are now in the physical world and the higher is where we want to go to transcend our lower nature to our higher nature of love, unlike any love we experience here in the physical, Higher will and purpose and the higher mind where the answers can be found because the lower mind is finite."

Bryan writes:

"At first blush, I interpreted the world 'triad' to be and/or mean something that I (am most others) are familiar with -- that of 'the trinity.' However, I found this not to be the case -- or not as I have previously understood these two words.

"I also noticed that as I was attempting to digest things, that the following stanza from 'The Great Invocation' came into my mind -- mostly as I suspect that this was about all I could actually comprehend (grin):

"'From the Center where the Will of God is known
Let Purpose guide the little wills of men,
The Purpose which the Masters (and Disciples) know and serve.'

"I also noticed that almost without exception, any mention of the world 'Spiritual Triad' was NOT without the mention of the word Antahkarana -- or some kind of re-emphasis of the need to have this, 'line or strand of light' in place or as a minimum, in the process of being ;constructed.'

"Other words that were often found 'in the company' of (or directly related to) the word (or phrase) 'Spiritual Triad' were:

"Intuition, revelation, higher evolution, superhuman evolution, creative imagination, Shamballa, monad, initiation, Science Of Impression, true telepathy, point-of-tension, and many may others.

"Here's a FEW 'hi-lites' I extracted from my research of AAB/DK:

"The Spiritual Triad:

"Is also known as and/or called simply 'The Triad.'

"Is a and/or the reflection of the Monad.

"Is the triple expression or instrument of the Monad.

"Consists of three worlds or states of consciousness: atma-buddi-manas.

"Is the spiritual will, the intuition or pure reason, and the abstract mind.

"The lowest aspect of the Spiritual Triad (Manas) is manifested in us as our Higher Mind.

"Is a source of electrical fire.

"The light of which reflects upon the mental plane.

"Is one of the three types of light which we need to be responsive to -- which is also an aspect of the spiritual Will, and which streams from Shamballa.

"Acts as an intermediary between The Monad & The Brain of The Personality.

"The Intuition is an agent of The Spiritual Triad.

"Referred to as 'the lighted way.'

"The world of the Spiritual Triad is also referred to as the three worlds of superhuman evolution: atma-buddhi- manas.

"The three aspects of The Will.

"The source of 'pure will.'

"Is the goal of, or our next step in consciousness or evolution.

"It is, or is the source of divine consciousness, and a triple stream of spiritual energy.

"Evidenced or manifested by/thru the inflow of the will-energy.

"Activities of the Spiritual Triad are governed by The Law of Synthesis.

"Revelations and intuitive impressions via The Science Of Impression -- 'the will-to-be' & telepathy) received via the Spiritual Triad are concerned with the use of the Will in implementing the evolutionary aspect of the divine purpose.

"The goal of the initiate is to initiate essentially become an expression of the Monad through the medium of the three aspects of the Spiritual Triad.

"Will at some point replace (more toward fuses with or supersedes) the 'soul,' and become the next step in our evolution proceeding the merging or super-session of The Spiritual Triad with that of The Monad (or monadic light and energy).

"We have a tendency to believe and/or perceive that it is something about or related to 'the needs' of our human worlds of endeavor that keep the attention of The Masters focused on us; when it appears that it is what is 'revealed' to the Masters through the 'world' of The Spiritual Triad which keeps them focused on us.

"The Spiritual Triad's threefold world is where the Ashrams of the Masters are to be found on every level of consciousness.

"It is the point of focus of the consciousness and motivation of The Hierarchy and specifically the Masters -- and is the 'conditioning agent' for a Master's 'personality.').

"Associated with manifestations or functions of our Higher Mind with the ideas/concepts, words/phrases such as: 'manastic awareness,' 'initiated thinking,' and 'triadal thinking.'

"[End Of Definition(s) ]"

  

"[Beginning Of Quotes]

"'It might be said that the whole goal of normal evolution is to bring humanity to the point where a direct line of contact is established between the personality and the Spiritual Triad, via the soul - or rather, through the medium of using the soul consciousness to achieve this awareness.'

("The Rays & the Initiations," Page 498, by Alice A. Bailey)

  

"'The higher mind (being the lowest aspect of the Spiritual Triad) can be regarded as a door admitting the consciousness of the soul-infused personality into a higher realm of contact and awareness. But again - as you can well see - there is nothing here but symbolism; there is no door, but simply a symbol indicating means of access.'

("Discipleship in the New Age 2," Page 194, by Alice A. Bailey)

  

"'Points of revelation appear when the disciple realizes that initiation is not a process of soul- personality fusion but of Monad-personality integration.'

("Discipleship in the New Age 2," Page 268, by Alice A. Bailey)

  

"'This makes possible, therefore, the next great human unfoldment which grows out of the Christ consciousness and "brings to light" (I know no other way in which to express this concept) the will of God, and points also to the basic distinction between goodwill and the will-to-good. Again I would ask you to reflect upon this distinction, for it connotes the difference between a life ruled and conditioned by the soul and one which is ruled and conditioned by the Spiritual Triad. This distinction is very real, for one quality grows out of love, and the other out of the recognition of the universality of life; one is an expression of the Christ consciousness and life, and the other is a responsiveness to monadic inflow, and yet the two are one.'

("Discipleship in the New Age 2," Page 270, by Alice A. Bailey)

  

"'The stage wherein the lowest aspect of the Spiritual Triad (that of the abstract mind) becomes potent as the conveyor of ideas; these are transformed by the initiate into ideals for the service of humanity.'

("The Rays & the Initiations," Page 588, by Alice A. Bailey)

  

"'It is through the activity of the lower mind that fusion with the soul is brought about, with successive, intensifying points of tension; it is through the activity established between higher and lower mind that fusion with the Spiritual Triad becomes possible, with points of tension arising at many points along the bridge, the antahkarana; it is through the activity of pure reason that fusion with the Hierarchy becomes possible, and it is that which produces those points of tension which we call Initiations.'

("The Rays & the Initiations," Page 541, by Alice A. Bailey)

  

"'The goal towards which higher disciples are working involves not only soul contact as its primary objective (for that has to some measure been attained), but the building of the bridge from the personality to the Spiritual Triad, with consequent monadic realization and the opening up to the initiate of the Way to the Higher Evolution in its various branches and with its differing goals and objectives. The distinction (I said not "difference, " and would have you note this) between the two ways....'

("The Rays & the Initiations," Page 458, by Alice A. Bailey)

  

"'Let him learn to control and consciously employ the mind; let him train his mind to receive communications from three sources:

"'The three worlds of ordinary living, thus enabling the mind to act as the 'common sense.'

"'The soul, and thus consciously become the disciple, the worker in an Ashram, illumined by the wisdom of the soul, and superseding gradually the knowledge gained in the three worlds. That knowledge, rightly applied, becomes wisdom.

"'The Spiritual Triad, acting as the intermediary between the Monad and the brain of the personality. This can eventually take place, because the soul and personality are fused and blended into one functioning unit, this superseding again what we mean when we use the erroneous phrase 'the soul.''

"'Duality then takes the place of the original triplicity."

("The Rays & the Initiations, Page 433," by Alice A. Bailey)

  

"I thought this was an interesting quote:

"'You see again another reason why the first and second initiations are not regarded by the Lodge of Masters as major initiations. Only the third is so regarded, because at that initiation the entire personality life is flooded with energy coming from the Spiritual Triad, via the 'sacrifice petals' of the will and purpose aspect of the soul. To this type of energy the black magician is not responsive. He can and does respond to the knowledge - most ancient and hardly won - stored up in the 'knowledge petals' of the soul; he can appropriate and utilize the energy of attraction (erroneously called love by some students) stored up in the 'love petals' of the soul, but he cannot respond to and use the energy of divine love, working out in the divine Plan which controls all knowledge and converts it into wisdom, and which actuates and clarifies the motive which brings loving magnetic attraction into action and which we call true group consciousness and group cohesion. It is at this point that the two ways - of darkness and of light - become widely divergent. Until the third initiation is taken, glamor may condition the attitude of those seeking to understand the life of a man upon the Path, and they may mistake the spurious for the real. The black magician leads a disciplined life, analogous to that of the spiritual aspirant; he practices purity for his own safeguarding and not in order that he may become a channel for the energy of light; he works with power (the power of magnetic attraction) with and in groups, but he does this for his own selfish ends and for the fulfilment of his own ambitious purposes. But at the third initiation there comes to the true spiritual initiate the revelation which is the reward of perseverance and purity rightly motivated - the revelation of the divine purpose, as the soul records it in terms of the hierarchical plan, though not yet in terms of the Monad. To this purpose and to the loving Will of God (to use a trite Christian phrase) the black brother cannot respond; his aims are different. You have here the true meaning of the oft-used and misunderstood phrase, 'the parting of the ways.'""

("The Rays and the Initiations, Part 2," Page 350, by Alice A. Bailey)