by Fr. E.S.Q.S.
Introduction
Admittedly, it has be a long time since I last posted an article to Esoteric Law; however, I have never forgotten the place, nor have I forgotten the people here: my brothers and fellow seekers. That being said, I have something new for you today - at long last. As you’ll all know, given my past work here, a recurrent theme in my meditations is the unity of everything. I always return to the theme of unity. As I had said many times before – and I will say it again even now: “Unity is my lodestar, always and ever guiding me aright”. Any time that I am “lost”, or are unsure of my way, I return to this theme of unity. I return to the “guiding light” of my “lodestar” – a cosmic idea. In my many meditations on the theme of the unity of everything, I had also pondered on the universal brotherhood of man – after all, that is, itself, a kind of unity: the unity of the fourth natural kingdom, the unity of mankind; also, “humanity”. As you all well know, any “grouping” is a kind of unity, indicates a kind of collective consciousness. I got to wondering, “Well, what is the basis of the universal brotherhood of man?” In older presentations of Esoterics, this was probably not so clear; however, the matter is quite different in Pythagorean Hylozoics a la HTL and LA – and that is what I will be discussing today.
The “Soul” of Man
In the older presentations of Esoterics, one basis of the universal brotherhood of man often described is the “soul” of man. It was explained that all men had a “soul” and, so, that is what could be considered the basis of the universal brotherhood of man. Of course, this idea is not wrong; however, there were problems with it -after all, the term, “Soul” was not very precise. What was a “soul”? Nobody really new. And then speculation started. The term, “Soul” meant anything and everything – and, soon enough, even the theologians had gotten a hold of it and were turning it into sheer madness. Thankfully, that day is over. We have a more precise explanation: we have the Hylozoic explanation.
The Causal Envelope of Man
The term, “Soul”, of course, can mean a great many things – for example: it can mean consciousness. Another thing that it can mean is the causal envelope of man (47:1-3), man’s “soul”. That is the correct way of interpreting it in this particular case. Thus, when it is said that, “Men are united in a universal brotherhood of man by virtue of their souls”, it is like saying, “Men are united in a universal brotherhood of man by virtue of their causal envelopes”. That is more correct. That is more precise. More than that, it is also true: all men have a causal envelope (47:1-3), all men must have a causal envelope (47:1-3). It is the causal envelope (47:1-3) which distinguishes man from beast, a member of the fourth natural kingdom from the third natural kingdom. Animals do not have a causal envelope (47:1-3). In a way, it is like saying that the animal does not have a “soul” (when we mean the causal envelope 47:1-3); however, I am very reluctant to use this phraseology. The last thing that we need is yet another “reason” for the mistreatment and abuse of animals. When an animal gets a causal envelope in the process called, “Causalization”, then that animal has passed to the fourth natural kingdom and is a newly causalized man. A more technical definition of a man is this: an evolutionary monad in the fourth natural kingdom, involved into a triad (the first triad 47:4, 48:1, 49:1), in an incarnating causal envelope (the triad envelope), which is, itself, part of a greater causal envelope (in the causal world 47:1-3), all held by Augoeides (who represents both our super-conscious causal consciousness and our share in essential consciousness). This is the case with all men.
NOTE: I am very much reminded of this when the Stoic philosopher-king, Marcus Aurelius, describes his relation to his fellow man as being a matter of “intellect” or the “rational element”, the “mind”; also, “a share in the divine”. That sounds a whole lot like causal-mental consciousness (47:1-7), doesn’t it?
Man, the Causal Being
In reality, it is not really unfair to call man a “causal being”. More than anything else, man is his causal envelope (47:1-3) and its consciousness – or, more precisely, he is an evolutionary monad that is (more or less) identified with the causal envelope (47:1-3) and its consciousness. “Casual being” implies passivity. When man has learned to activate the matter there is in his causal envelope (47:1-3), has learned to activate his passive subjective and objective causal consciousness, has learned to become self-conscious in his causal envelope (47:1-3), then he will be a “causal self”. That is one of the major goals of man: to become a causal self as opposed to a causal being; to become self-active and self-conscious in the causal envelope (47:1-3). Thus, all men are “causal beings”; all men are on their way to becoming “causal selves” – and that is so because they all have a “soul”, they all have a causal envelope (47:1-3).
The Causal World of the Planet
Men, as causal beings, do not truly exist in isolation. The isolation that is experienced is both temporary and limited. It is a necessary process which serves to develop self-consciousness in the envelopes of incarnation, and – finally – even self-consciousness in the causal envelope (47:1-3). As I had said before, elsewhere, that isolation is necessary. If the Self cannot discover itself in its own envelopes, then what hope does the Self have of discovering itself in collective envelopes? It is really not hard to understand when you think of it that way: without self-consciousness, collective consciousness (starting at 46:7) is practically useless. Then it is like being “lost” in the expanse of unity. The “Self” is “annihilated” (not literally, of course) – or, as it has been said by both HTL and LA: “the unprepared (those lacking self-consciousness) drown in the ocean of consciousness” - and knows nothing but bliss. That is not terribly useful. It is like falling asleep and having a wonderful dream. We are not here to fall asleep and have wonderful dreams. We have been “sleeping” long enough. It is time to “wake up”, to become self-conscious. Then, and only then, will collective consciousness become a useful tool.
Men, as causal beings (and even causal selves), do not truly exist in isolation. The causal envelope (47:1-3) is composed of causal matter belonging to the causal world of the planet (47:1-3). And what, pray tell, does that mean for man? Well, it means that men, those causal beings (and causal selves), are all connected. Men not only have “souls”, have causal envelopes (47:1-3), but those causal envelopes are all connected by virtue of the causal world of the planet – what we might call, “the world of souls”. It is this “world of souls”, this share in the causal world of the planet, that is the material basis of the universal brotherhood of man.
Brotherhood of “Souls” and Equality
One thing that follows from this – and this is quite interesting, mind you – is that this brotherhood of “souls”, based upon the ownership of a causal envelope (47:1-3) and its share in the causal world of the planet, unites all of mankind: “All people are one and I am one with them – every man, woman and child of every race, class, and creed”. There is no distinction. All men are connected by virtue of the fact that they have got a “soul”, have got a causal envelope (47:1-3). That is brotherhood. Men are equal in that they all have a “soul”, have a causal envelope (47:1-3), they are all members of the fourth natural kingdom, all members of the human family which we call, “Humanity”. That is the root of truly human equality. That being said, this brotherhood (of “souls”) does not, in any way, disbar differences in progress, differences in growth and development. Men are equal in what makes them men – namely, the causal envelope (47:1-3), and that is all. They are equal in essence, but not in progress – the growth and development of consciousness; also, of qualities and abilities - which is a is sense that is missing with the socio-political twaddlers of our day, who strive to “level the field” and drag down all those who dare to push ahead and “make for the tape”. The Term, “Equality” has rarely been properly understood. In any case, “Brotherhood” and “Equality” are not synonymous, despite the fact that they have been treated as such.
Probably more could be said - the idea of unity is a font with no end, as I see it; however, I realize that I am running out of space. This will have to do for the time being.
Thanks for your time,
Sincerely,
Fr. E.S.Q.S.