Subtle body [antikvár]

Man - essence and shadow One of the most persistent beliefs held by man throughout the ages is that his physical form is but the reflection of a series of subtler bodies, and that in their totality these invisible, interpenetrating forms reflect the nature of Cod, the Cosmic Man crucified in space upon the cross of matter. Most, if not all, of the spiritual and philosophical writings and teachings that have emerged through the ages bear witness to this concept. It is clear that the ancient Egyptians, Chinese and Creeks, the Indians of North America, the tribes of Africa, the Polynesian Kahunas, the Incas, the early Christians, the Vedic seers of India, and the medieval alchemists and mystics of Europe, have all in one way or another seen man and the study of his anatomy, both physical and subtle, as a key to the nature of Cod and the universe. One of the profoundest mystics of ancient India, Shankara, wrote in his The Crest jewel of Discrimination: 'Man is more than his shadow'; and in Europe hundreds of years later the Renaissance natural philosopher Paracelsus echoed his theme, saying that if we follow the light of nature, we learn that there exists another half of man: man does not consist of flesh and blood alone, but also of a body that cannot be discerned by our crude eyesight. Man, he tells us, has bodies visible and invisible. The visionary Jacob Boehme, in his treatise, the Aurora, expresses the same idea more forcefully: Open your eyes, and consider yourselves; Man is made according to the similitude, and out of the power, of Cod in his Ternary. Behold thy inward man, and then thou wilt see it most plainly and clearly; if thou art not a fool and an irrational beast; therefore observe. These correlations of the nature of man and of Cod underlie all the philosophical and religious doctrines of the ancient world. Its traditional teachings were broadly divided into two categories: one for those who could understand only the literal expression of Nature's deeper mysteries, and who worshipped the great forces of the universe as gods and goddesses; and the other for those who were capable of looking beyond the images of the gods to the abstract truths and spiritual realities they represented. Those who found themselves in the latter group often formed schools or fraternities where instruction was given in the inner or esoteric meaning of the teachings. This esoteric content formed a body of knowledge known as the Mysteries, and its secrets were transmitted from the priests to their disciples in a language heavily veiled in symbolism, thus ensuring that only those who had deserved initiation would gain access to the powerful forces of nature and use them for the service of others. Each civilization has its own Mysteries, and many esoteric schools have flourished; among them in the west have been those of Hermes, Isis, Eleusis and Mithras, the Druids and the Rosicrucians. Through study and contemplation of the teachings, the aspirant learns how a deeper understanding of his relationship to Cod ultimately leads him to a state of conscious union with the Godhead. Central to all the Mysteries is the idea that man, made in the image of Cod, has a threefold nature comprising spirit, soul and body. The spirit of man is seen as the true essence, the immortal seed: as a spark of the Divine