Plane (esotericism)

Last updated
Planes of existence

Gross and subtle bodies

Theosophy
Full list

1. Spiritual/Divine/Logoic/Mahaparanirvanic plane/Adi

Contents

Divine Spirit/Word; First Logos/Theon/Pranava/Parabrahman. paramatman

2. Spiritual/Monadic/Paranirvanic plane/Anupapaduka

Holy Spirit/Word; Second Logos/Monad; Nirguna Brahman. oversoul/monad/jivatman

3. Spiritual/Pneuma/Nirvanic/Atmic plane

Holy Spirit/Word; Third Logos/Pneuma; Saguna Brahman. individual spirit/pneuma/atman

4. Spiritual/Soul/Causal/Intuitional/Noetic/Buddhic plane

soul/nous/buddhi/causal body

5 Mental/Manasic/Causal/Intellectual plane

mind/manas/phren: mental and causal and higher mental bodies, projection/out-of-body experience (OBE)

6. Astral/Emotional plane

ghost/thymos/kama/emotional/astral body, projection/OBE

7. Material-Ethereal plane

material/soma/sthula and life/ethereal/phasma/linga/vital bodies/shariras, aura/prana, projection/OBE
Rosicrucian

The 7 Worlds and the 7 Cosmic Planes
The Seven-fold constitution of Man
The Ten-fold constitution of Man

Thelema
Body of light | Great Work
Hermeticism
Hermeticism | Cosmogony
Surat Shabda Yoga
Cosmology
Jainism
Jain cosmology
Sufism
Sufi cosmology
Hinduism
Lokas/Talas - Tattvas, Kosas, Upadhis
Buddhism
Buddhist cosmology
Gnosticism
Aeons, Archons
Kabbalah
Atziluth > Beri'ah > Yetzirah > Assiah

Sephirot

Fourth Way

Ray of Creation

This box:

In esoteric cosmology, a plane is conceived as a subtle state, level, or region of reality, each plane corresponding to some type, kind, or category of being.

The concept may be found in religious and esoteric teachings which propound the idea of a whole series of subtle planes or worlds or dimensions which, from a center, interpenetrate themselves and the physical planet in which we live, the solar systems, and all the physical structures of the universe. This interpenetration of planes culminates in the universe itself as a physical structured, dynamic and evolutive expression emanated through a series of steadily denser stages, becoming progressively more material and embodied.

The emanation is conceived, according to esoteric teachings, to have originated, at the dawn of the universe's manifestation, in The Supreme Being who sent out—from the unmanifested Absolute beyond comprehension—the dynamic force of creative energy, as sound-vibration ("the Word"), into the abyss of space. Alternatively, it states that this dynamic force is being sent forth, through the ages, framing all things that constitute and inhabit the universe.

Origins of the concept

The original source of the word plane in this context is the late Neoplatonist Proclus, who refers to to platos, "breadth", which was the equivalent of the 19th-century theosophical use. An example is the phrase en to psychiko platei. [1]

Esoteric conceptions

In the late 19th century, the metaphysical term "planes" was popularised by the theosophy of H. P. Blavatsky, who in The Secret Doctrine and other writings propounded a complex cosmology consisting of seven planes and subplanes, based on a synthesis of Eastern and Western ideas. The planes in Theosophy were further systematized in the writings of Annie Besant [2] and C. W. Leadbeater. [3]

From theosophy the term made its way to later esoteric systems such as that of Alice Bailey. Max Theon used the word "States" (French Etat) rather than "Planes", in his cosmic philosophy, but the meaning is the same.[ citation needed ]

In the early 20th century, Max Heindel presented in The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception a cosmology related to the scheme of evolution in general and the evolution of the Solar System and the Earth in particular, according to the Rosicrucians. He establishes, through the conceptions presented, a bridge between modern science (currently starting research into the subtler etheric plane of existence behind the physical) and religion, in order that this last one may be able to address man's inner questions raised by scientific advancement. [4]

The planes

Many occult, psychic, metaphysical, mystical, and esoteric teachings assert that at least four separate planes of existence exist; however, these differing occult and metaphysical schools often label the planes of existence with differing terminologies. These planes of existence often tend to overlap with each other heavily in both description and conception (especially between schools), and can roughly be delineated into "physical", "mental", "spiritual", or "transcendent" categories.[ citation needed ]

Do note that the listing of planes below is based mostly on Theosophy. Other religions might structure their planes significantly differently.

Physical plane

The physical plane, physical world, or physical universe, in emanationist metaphysics taught in Neoplatonism, Hermeticism, Hinduism and Theosophy, refers to the visible reality of space and time, energy and matter: the physical universe in occultism and esoteric cosmology is the lowest or densest of a series of planes of existence.[ citation needed ]

According to Theosophists, after the material plane is the etheric plane and both of these planes are connected to make up the first (physical) plane. [5] Theosophy also teaches that when the physical body dies the etheric body is left behind and the soul forms into an astral body on the astral plane. [6]

The psychical researcher F. W. H. Myers proposed the existence of a "metetherial world", which he wrote to be a world of images lying beyond the physical world. He wrote that apparitions have a real existence in the metetherial world which he described as a dream-like world. [7]

Astral plane

The astral spheres were thought to be planes of angelic existence intermediate between Earth and heaven. Oresme Spheres crop.jpg
The astral spheres were thought to be planes of angelic existence intermediate between Earth and heaven.

The astral plane, also called the astral world, is where consciousness goes after physical death. According to occult philosophy, all people possess an astral body. The astral plane (also known as the astral world) was postulated by classical (particularly neoplatonic), medieval, oriental, and esoteric philosophies and mystery religions. [8] It is the world of the planetary spheres, crossed by the soul in its astral body on the way to being born and after death, and generally said to be populated by angels, spirits, or other non-physical beings. [9]

In the late 19th and early 20th century the term was popularised by Theosophy and neo-Rosicrucianism. According to occult teachings the astral plane can be visited consciously through astral projection, meditation, and mantra, near-death experience, lucid dreaming, or other means. Individuals that are trained in the use of the astral vehicle can separate their consciousness in the astral vehicle from the physical body at will. [10]

The Theosophist author Curuppumullage Jinarajadasa wrote: "When a person dies, they become fully conscious in the astral body. After a certain time, the astral body disintegrates, and the person then becomes conscious on the mental plane." [11]

Occultist George Arundale wrote:

In the astral world exist temporarily all those physical entities, men and animals, for whom sleep involves a separation of the physical body for a time from the higher bodies. While we "sleep", we live in our astral bodies, either fully conscious and active, or partly conscious and semi-dormant, as the case may be, according to our evolutionary growth; when we "wake", the physical and the higher bodies are interlocked again, and we cease to be inhabitants of the astral world. [12]

Some writers have asserted the astral plane can be reached by dreaming. Sylvan Muldoon and psychical researcher Hereward Carrington in their book The Projection of the Astral Body (1929) wrote:

When you are dreaming you are not really in the same world as when you are conscious – in the physical – although the two worlds merge into one another. While dreaming, you really are in the astral plane, and usually your astral body is in the zone of quietude. [13]

In his book Autobiography of a Yogi , Paramhansa Yogananda provides details about the astral planes learned from his resurrected guru Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri. [14] Yogananda reveals that nearly all individuals enter the astral planes after death. There they work out the seeds of past karma through astral incarnations, or (if their karma requires) they return to earthly incarnations for further refinement. Once an individual has attained the meditative state of nirvikalpa samadhi in an earthy or astral incarnation, the soul may progress upward to the "illumined astral planet" of Hiranyaloka. [14] After this transitional stage, the soul may then move upward to the more subtle causal spheres where many incarnations allow them to further refine until final unification. [15]

Astral projection author Robert Bruce describes the astral as seven planes that take the form of planar surfaces when approached from a distance, separated by immense coloured "buffer zones". These planes are endlessly repeating ruled Cartesian coordinate system grids, tiled with a single signature pattern that is different for each plane. Higher planes have bright, colourful patterns, whereas lower planes appear far duller. Every detail of these patterns acts as a consistent portal to a different kingdom inside the plane, which itself comprises many separate realms. Bruce notes that the astral may also be entered by means of long tubes that bear visual similarity to these planes, and conjectures that the grids and tubes are in fact the same structures approached from a different perceptual angle.[ citation needed ]

Mental plane

Charles Webster Leadbeater wrote:

In the mental world one formulates a thought and it is instantly transmitted to the mind of another without any expression in the form of words. Therefore on that plane language does not matter in the least; but helpers working in the astral world, who have not yet the power to use the mental vehicle. [16]

Annie Besant wrote that "The mental plane, as its name implies, is that which belongs to consciousness working as thought; not of the mind as it works through the brain, but as it works through its own world, unencumbered with physical spirit-matter." [17]

A detailed description of the mental plane, along with the mental body, is provided by Arthur E. Powell, who has compiled information in the works of Besant and Leadbeater in a series of books on each of the subtle bodies.

Causal plane

According to Hindu occultism the mental plane consists of two divisions, the lower division is known as heaven ( Svargaloka ) and the upper division is known as the causal plane (Maharloka). [18]

Sivaya Subramuniyaswami wrote:

The causal plane is the world of light and blessedness, the highest of heavenly regions, extolled in the scriptures of all faiths. It is the foundation of existence, the source of visions, the point of conception, the apex of creation. The causal plane is the abode of Lord Siva and his entourage of Mahadevas and other highly evolved souls who exist in their own self-effulgent form—radiant bodies of centillions of quantum light particles. [19]

Sri Aurobindo developed a very different concept of the mental plane, through his own synthesis of Vedanta (including the Taittiriya Upanishad), Tantra, Theosophy, and Max Théon ideas (which he received via The Mother, who was Theon's student in occultism for two years). In this cosmology, there are seven cosmic planes, three lower, corresponding to relative existence (the Physical, Vital, and Mental), and four higher, representing infinite divine reality ( Life Divine bk. 1 ch. 27) The Aurobindonian Mind or Mental Plane constitutes a large zone of being from the mental vital to the overmental divine region ( Letters on Yoga , Jyoti and Prem Sobel 1984), but as with the later Theosophical concept it constitutes an objective reality of sheer mind or thought.[ citation needed ]

Buddhic plane

The buddhic plane is described as a realm of pure consciousness. [20] According to Theosophy the buddhic plane exists to develop buddhic consciousness which means to become unselfish and solve any problems with the ego. [21] Charles Leadbeater wrote that in the buddhic plane man casts off the delusion of the self and enters a realization of unity. [22]

Annie Besant defined the buddhic plane as

Persistent, conscious, spiritual awareness. This is the full consciousness of the buddhic or intuitional level. This is the perceptive consciousness which is the outstanding characteristic of the Hierarchy. The life focus of the man shifts to the buddhic plane. This is the fourth or middle state of consciousness. [23]

Sri Aurobindo calls the level above the mental plane the supermind. [24]

Spiritual plane

George Winslow Plummer wrote that the spiritual plane is split into many sub-planes (such as the "Atmic plane") and that on these planes live spiritual being who are more advanced in development and status than ordinary man. [25]

Divine plane

According to some occult teachings, all souls are born on the divine plane and then descend down through the lower planes; however souls will work their way back to the divine plane. [26] [27] Joshua David Stone describes the plane as complete unity with God. [28] Rosicrucianism teaches that the divine plane is where Jesus dwelt in Christ consciousness. [29] [ better source needed ]

The Summerland

The Summerland is the name given by Theosophists, Spiritualists, Wiccans, and some earth-based contemporary pagan religions to their conceptualization of existence on a plane in an afterlife. [30]

Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772) inspired Andrew Jackson Davis (1826–1910), in his major work The Great Harmonia to say that Summerland is the pinnacle of spiritual achievement in the afterlife; that is, it is the highest level, or sphere, of the afterlife we can hope to enter.[ citation needed ] The common portrayal of the Summerland is as a place of rest for souls after or between their earthly incarnations. The Summerland is also envisioned as a place for recollection and reunion with deceased loved ones.[ citation needed ]

As the name suggests, it is often imagined as a place of beauty and peace, where everything people hold close to their hearts is preserved in its fullest beauty for eternity. It is envisioned as containing wide (possibly eternal) fields of rolling green hills and lush grass. In Theosophy, the term "Summerland" is used without the definite article "the". Summerland, also called the Astral plane Heaven, is depicted as where souls who have been good in their previous lives go between incarnations. Those who have been bad go to Hell, which is believed to be located below the surface of the Earth and is on the astral plane and is composed of the densest astral matter; the Spiritual Hierarchy functioning within Earth functions on the etheric plane below the surface of the Earth. [3]

Theosophists also believe there is another higher level of heaven called Devachan, also called the Mental plane Heaven, which some but not all souls reach between incarnations—only those souls that are more highly developed spiritually reach this level, those souls that are at the first, second, and third levels of initiation. Devachan is several miles (around 10 km) higher above the surface of Earth than Summerland.. [3]

Inhabitants of the various planes

Occult writers such as Geoffrey Hodson,[ citation needed ] Mellie Uyldert, [31] and Dora van Gelder [ citation needed ] attempted to classify different spiritual beings into a hierarchy based on their assumed place and function on the planes of existence.[ citation needed ]

Charles Webster Leadbeater fundamentally described and incorporated his comprehension of intangible beings for Theosophy. Along with him there are various planes intertwined with the quotidian human world and are all inhabited by multitudes of entities. Each plane is purported as composed of discrete density of astral or ethereal matter and frequently the denizens of a plane have no discernment of other ones. Other Theosophical writers such as Alice Bailey, a contemporary of Leadbeater, also gave continuousness to Theosophical concepts of ethereal beings and her works had a great impact over New Age movement. [32] [33] She puts the nature spirits and devas as ethereal beings immersed in macro divisions of an interwoven threefold universe, usually they belong to the etheric, astral, or mental planes. The ethereal entities of the four kingdoms, Earth, Air, Fire, and Water, are forces of nature.

The Dutch writer and clairvoyant Mellie Uyldert characterized the semblance and behavior of ethereal entities on the etheric plane, which, she said, hover above plants and transfer energy for vitalizing the plant, then nourishing themselves on rays of sunlight. She depicted them as asexual gender, and composed of etheric matter. They fly three meters over the ground, some have wings like butterflies while others only have a small face and an aura waving graciously. Some are huge while others may have the size of one inch. [31]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Webster Leadbeater</span> British theosophist and writer (1854–1934)

Charles Webster Leadbeater was a member of the Theosophical Society, Co-Freemasonry, an author on occult subjects, and the co-initiator, with J. I. Wedgwood, of the Liberal Catholic Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Astral projection</span> Interpretation of out-of-body experiences

Astral projection is a term used in esotericism to describe an intentional out-of-body experience (OBE) that assumes the existence of a subtle body, known as the astral body or body of light, through which consciousness can function separately from the physical body and travel throughout the astral plane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Subtle body</span> Quasi material aspect of the human body

A subtle body is a "quasi material" aspect of the human body, being neither solely physical nor solely spiritual, according to various esoteric, occult, and mystical teachings. This contrasts with the mind–body dualism that has dominated Western thought. The subtle body is important in the Taoism of China and Dharmic religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, mainly in the branches which focus on tantra and yoga, where it is known as the Sūkṣma-śarīra. However, while mostly associated with Asian cultures, non-dualistic approaches to the mind and body are found in many parts of the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alice Bailey</span> British-American esoteric, theosophist and writer (1880–1949)

Alice Ann Bailey was a writer of more than twenty-four books on theosophical subjects, and was one of the first writers to use the term New Age. Bailey was born as Alice La Trobe-Bateman, in Manchester, England. She moved to the United States in 1907, where she spent most of her life as a writer and teacher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Astral body</span> Concept of a subtle body, intermediate between the soul and body

The astral body is a subtle body posited by many philosophers, intermediate between the intelligent soul and the mental body, composed of a subtle material. In many recensions the concept ultimately derives from the philosophy of Plato though the same or similar ideas have existed all over the world well before Plato's time: it is related to an astral plane, which consists of the planetary heavens of astrology. The term was adopted by nineteenth-century Theosophists and neo-Rosicrucians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Astral plane</span> Concept of a world of celestial spheres

The astral plane, also called the astral realm or the astral world, is a plane of existence postulated by classical, medieval, oriental, esoteric, and new age philosophies and mystery religions. It is the world of the celestial spheres, crossed by the soul in its astral body on the way to being born and after death, and is generally believed to be populated by angels, spirits or other immaterial beings. In the late 19th and early 20th century the term was popularised by Theosophy and neo-Rosicrucianism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosicrucian Fellowship</span> Association of Christian mystics

The Rosicrucian Fellowship (TRF) was founded in 1909 by Max Heindel with the aim of heralding the Aquarian Age and promulgating "the true Philosophy" of the Rosicrucians. It claims to present Esoteric Christian mysteries or esoteric knowledge, alluded to in Matthew 13:11 and Luke 8:10, to establish a meeting ground for art, religion, and science and to prepare the individual through harmonious development of the mind and the heart for selfless service of humanity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Root race</span> Evolution stage in religious cosmology

Root races are concepts in the esoteric cosmology of Theosophy. As described in Helena Petrovna Blavatsky's book The Secret Doctrine (1888), these races correspond to stages of human evolution, and existed mainly on now-lost continents. Blavatsky's model was developed by later theosophists, most notably William Scott-Elliot in The Story of Atlantis (1896) and The Lost Lemuria (1904). Annie Besant further developed the model in Man: Whence, How and Whither (1913). Both Besant and Scott-Elliot relied on information from Charles Webster Leadbeater obtained by "astral clairvoyance". Further elaboration was provided by Rudolf Steiner in Atlantis and Lemuria (1904). Rudolf Steiner, and subsequent theosophist authors, have called the time periods associated with these races Epochs.

The mental body is one of the subtle bodies in esoteric philosophies, in some religious teachings and in New Age thought. It is understood as a sort of body made up of thoughts, just as the emotional body consists of emotions and the physical body is made up of matter. In occult understanding, thoughts are not just subjective qualia, but have an existence apart from the associated physical organ, the brain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Etheric body</span> Concept in neo-Theosophy

The etheric body, ether-body, or æther body is a subtle body propounded in esoteric and occult philosophies as the first or lowest layer in the human energy field or aura. The etheric body is said to be in immediate contact with the physical body and to sustain it and connect it with "higher" bodies. It is also said to consist of a finer substance, more pure and composed of smaller particles, than the ordinary matter of the physical plane.

The etheric plane is a term introduced into Theosophy by Charles Webster Leadbeater and Annie Besant to represent the subtle part of the lower plane of existence. It represents the fourth [higher] subplane of the physical plane, the lower three being the states of solid, liquid, and gaseous matter. The idea was later used by authors such as Alice Bailey, Rudolf Steiner, Walter John Kilner and others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neo-Theosophy</span> System of Theosophical ideas

Neo-Theosophy is a term, originally derogatory, used by the followers of Helena Blavatsky to denominate the system of Theosophical ideas expounded by Annie Besant and Charles Webster Leadbeater following the death of Madame Blavatsky in 1891. This material differed in major respects from Blavatsky's original presentation, but it is accepted as genuinely Theosophical by many Theosophists around the world.

Causal plane is a term used in Neo-Theosophy, some contemporary Vedanta, the New Age,, and sometimes Occultism, to describe a high spiritual plane of existence. However, there is great variation between the different definitions.

The Summerland is the name given by Theosophists, Wiccans and other contemporary pagan religions to their conceptualization of an afterlife.

Devachan is the "dwelling of the gods" according to the original teachings of Theosophy as formulated by H.P. Blavatsky.

<i>Man: Whence, How and Whither, a Record of Clairvoyant Investigation</i> Theosophical book published in 1913

Man: Whence, How and Whither, A Record of Clairvoyant Investigation, published in 1913, is a theosophical book compiled by the second president of the Theosophical Society (TS) - Adyar, Annie Besant, and by a TS member, Charles W. Leadbeater. The book is a study on early times on planetary chains, beginnings of early root races, early civilizations and empires, and past lives of men.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theosophical mysticism</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theosophy</span> Religion established in the United States

Theosophy is a religious and philosophical system established in the United States in the late 19th century. Founded primarily by Russian mystic and spiritualist Helena Blavatsky, and based largely on her writings, it draws heavily from both older European philosophies such as Gnosticism and Neoplatonism and Indian religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism. Although many adherents maintain that Theosophy is not a religion, it is variably categorized by religious scholars as both a new religious movement and a form occultism from within Western esotericism.

<i>Thought-Forms</i> 1905 book about Theosophy

Thought-Forms: A Record of Clairvoyant Investigation is a theosophical book compiled by the members of the Theosophical Society A. Besant and C. W. Leadbeater. It was originally published in 1905 in London. From the standpoint of Theosophy, it tells opinions regarding the visualization of thoughts, experiences, emotions and music. Drawings of the "thought-forms" were performed by John Varley Jr., Prince, and McFarlane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theosophy and visual arts</span>

Modern Theosophy has had considerable influence on the work of visual artists, particularly painters. Artists such as Wassily Kandinsky, Piet Mondrian, and Luigi Russolo chose Theosophy as the main ideological and philosophical basis of their work.

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Dodds, cited in Poortman (1978) , vol. II, p. 54.
  2. ↑ Besant (1897).
  3. 1 2 3 Leadbeater (1912).
  4. ↑ Heindel (1916).
  5. ↑ Friedlander & Hemsher (2011), p. 196.
  6. ↑ McClelland (2010), p. 32.
  7. ↑ Myers (1903).
  8. ↑ Mead (1919).
  9. ↑ Plato (2007).
  10. ↑ Brennan (1996).
  11. ↑ Jinarājadāsa (1922), pp. 139–140.
  12. ↑ Jinarājadāsa (1922), p. 93.
  13. ↑ Muldoon & Carrington (1929), p. 9.
  14. 1 2 Yogananda (1946), p.  400.
  15. ↑ Yogananda (1946), ch. 43.
  16. ↑ Leadbeater (1917), p. 264.
  17. ↑ Besant (1897), ch. IV.
  18. ↑ Kumar & Larsen (2004), p. 39.
  19. ↑ Subramuniyaswami (2003), p. xxxv.
  20. ↑ Stone & Parker (1998), p. 11.
  21. ↑ Leadbeater (1917), p. 226.
  22. ↑ Leadbeater (1925), p. 180.
  23. ↑ Bailey (1960), p. 463.
  24. ↑ Senner (2009), p. 239.
  25. ↑ Plummer (2014), p. 106.
  26. ↑ Poinsot (1945), p. 472.
  27. ↑ Poinsot (1939), p. 472.
  28. ↑ Stone & Parker (1998), p. 13.
  29. ↑ The Rosicrucian Digest. September 1932. p. 288.[ full citation needed ]
  30. ↑ Starr (2000).
  31. 1 2 Uyldert & Smith (1980).
  32. ↑ Laderman & León (2003), vol. 3, p. 236.
  33. ↑ York (1995), p. 66.

Works cited

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