ANTAHKARANA

There are three principal components that together constitute the 'bridge of the antahkarana'. These are:

The antahkarana is a 'bridge' or 'line of communication' that is gradually constructed within the being of a creative entity - from personality to monad. It opens the way for the creative energies of the entity to flow down through its various levels of consciousness. The bridge enables the entity to influence its 'physical' manifestation (and environment) in a spiritually, consciously and intelligently purposeful way. This goal is achieved when all the microcosmic organisms living within (i.e. composing and expressing) the being of the creative entity are themselves willing and able to receive the creative influx from their 'logos'. Also, they must be collectively and harmoniously aligned in their effort to fulfil His divine purpose.

The antahkarana is called the 'rainbow bridge' because it's composed of a seven-fold spectrum of microcosmic living forms. These forms exist within the being of their macrocosmic creator and must be brought into perfect alignment and focus before His spiritual/creative purpose can be fulfilled. The causal body (Tifareth-6) of every human-being vibrates to one of seven basic frequencies and in time we become consciously attuned to that vibration and thus also to the planetary logos Who is its parent source. We then proceed to attune ourselves to our monadic vibration so as to contribute our own brilliantly coloured filament to the collective seven-fold bridge of light that stretches between humanity and the creative consciousness of the solar logos.

The psyche of every human-being contains a centre of creative self-consciousness (i.e. a 'solar angel') as well as a large population of active (or living) thought-forms (i.e. 'lunar pitris'). It is a task of the disciple to bring his congregation of lunar pitris under control; to unify and unite them in the service of the solar angel.

In terms of the human AHIH₂ formula it means connecting 'consciously' the threefold mental body (I) with the etheric/physical body (H₂). (See figure 1.) This requires a tremendous strength of will on the part of the disciple as he struggles to overcome his material (astral) desires ~ the energies that motivate and empower the lunar pitris who inhabit his personality (i.e. the Daughter principle). Also, there is usually a great degree of in-fighting amongst the pitris ~ between various sub-groups or factions. This translates in the life of a human-being as inner/outer conflict.

Figure 1.

The lunar pitris must be reconciled with each other before they can be rallied as a coherent force in devotion to their true master ~ the solar angel. All this is the work of the 1st and 2nd initiations and involves the 'life thread' (or 'sutratma') of the antahkarana. Our symbol for this stage of the building process is the path of sameck on the Tree of Life.

1) Life thread ~ Will ~ Path of sameck

2) Consciousness thread ~ Love-wisdom ~ Path of vav

3) Creative thread ~ Intelligence ~ Path of mem

The 'creative thread' is built between the lower mental body (Hod-8) and the abstract mind (Pachad-5) and therefore, its symbol is the path of mem on the Tree of Life. It is completed during the 3rd and 4th initiations.

As the creative thread is built it becomes possible for yod-energy to flow from the buddhic body through the mental body and into the astral body. This is the goal of 'ascended man' in terms of the AHIH₂ formula ~ that is, to consciously channel the energy from the buddhic body (I) to the astral body (H₂). For the buddhic energy to be creatively effective it must pass through and be consciously utilised by the mental body. (See Figure 2.)

Note: Master DK in His book The Rays And The Initiations describes the
AHIH formula when He refers to the 'Law of the Supplementary Seven'
on pages 157-8. It is, He says, "...the law with which the initiate
works; it is this law he wields." I would only add that an initiate
works with AHIH consciously (whereas a non-initiate does so relatively
unconsciously and from a different level of consciousness).

Figure 2.

It can be seen that when the creative arm of the bridge is completed (at the 4th initiation) the causal body is no longer needed as a mediator and is bypassed via mem.

The path of mem (creative thread) spans the hiatus between the lower four sub-planes and the higher three sub-planes of the mental plane. It mirrors on the mental plane the function that the atmic 'body of light' fulfils in relation to the seven major planes of our solar system. On the Tree of Life diagram, the 'light body' is located in the sephirah Daath-11 and bridges the 'abyss' that exists between the four lower and the three higher planes.

The creative thread is constructed from 'mental matter' and therefore requires a strong mental focus on the part of the builder. Basically it involves the purification of existing thought-forms and also the creation of new thought-forms within the mind of the initiate. These thought-forms must have a high 'light quotient' or in other words, be clear reflections (or pure images) of spiritual 'reality'. This in turn necessitates a high degree of understanding; a kind of universal understanding ~ a faculty that evolves within the disciple as the building proceeds.

The disciple's 'understanding' is the feminine force that holds his thought-forms together as a shining bridge of light that spans the dark abyss of the illusory world.

The master Djwal Khul gives six consecutive steps in the building of the creative thread of the antahkarana. (See, The Rays and the Initiations, by Alice Bailey, pp. 431-530. Lucis Press.)

Each of the six stages corresponds to a particular energy body and a sephirah of the Tree of Life. (See Figure 3.)

Figure 3.

1. Intention. The etheric body of the disciple must be under his conscious control and its energy directed towards the acquisition of esoteric knowledge. He gathers information into the arena of his mind and holds it there in a state of constant mental tension. This is not something that is forced, but rather is a condition of focussed attention that naturally arises and is fuelled by the love/will of the solar angel (causal body). The disciple is drawn towards particular areas of research that will enable him to build the rainbow bridge.

2. Visualisation. As the disciple gathers esoteric information, symbols, and images into his mind, it triggers a process within his imagination. There is a flow of energy from his buddhic body into his astral body. This has the effect of presenting to his inner vision various symbolic relationships, enigmas, mandalas, and conundrums. He is unable to understand the meaning of these symbols because he has not yet sufficiently completed the bridge between his reasoning mind and his abstract mind. This is also why the energy that originally issued from his buddhic body into his astral body was not also registered by his mental body as it passed through it ~ his mind does not yet contain the infrastructure for mental understanding (or formulation). It is his determination to discover the meaning behind these curious astral presentations that enables him to proceed with the bridge building.

3. Projection. When he is confronted with these esoteric enigmas the disciple initiates a period of contemplation. He ponders the various elements that constitute the puzzle. He concentrates his mind upon the intriguing interrelationships that he can see but that presently confound him. In effect, he reaches with his mind into the darkness of the abyss, he holds out his hand and calls to his soul for understanding. The result of his mental striving is to establish a resonance that attracts towards him the knowledge and understanding for which he longs.

5. Stabilisation. As each new level of understanding is achieved, there is a process of readjustment that occurs within the psyche. Any knowledge that has proven false or obsolete is discarded and new concepts are integrated into the bridge's foundations. Gradually the antahkarana becomes a solid and secure edifice. The abstract mind contains archetypal symbols ~ mental forms that hold the greatest amount of light. They eventually become potent seeds available to the initiate in his creative work.

6. Resurrection (or Ascension). Understanding is transmuted into pure love-wisdom which energises the substance of the Christ 'body of light'.

The entire procedure outlined above can be imaged as also occurring within the mind/body of the solar logos ~ where each human-being is seen as a thought-form created by Helios. As we each evolve in our understanding of reality, and our consciousness becomes integrated into the whole (or we become 'group conscious') then our vibration is raised until we reach a point where we can assume our collective 'body of light'. We then become an integral and established part of the solar antahkarana and are able to consciously participate in channeling the creative yod-energy of Helios. The solar yod resonates through His rainbow bridge and is translated into the (monadic) substance of the cosmic physical plane. Thus the fellowship of ascended humanity can be seen as the cosmic physical manifestation (or extension) of the solar/planetary antahkarana.

If we take an astrological look at the Tree of Life it can be said that during the 3rd and 4th initiations ~ as the creative thread is being completed, there is a gradual reversal in the polarisation of the sephiroth Pachad-5 and Netzah-7. The result is that, symbolically speaking, their planetary attributions are transposed so that Venus is raised to the sephira Pachad-5 and Mars descends to Netzah-7.

Venus and Mars are intimately connected with each other in the human psyche. Venus is symbolic of our passive but potent desires and values. She is the passive energy behind the driving and focused force of the masculine Mars. When Venus is located in the sphere of the astral body (Netzah-7) then the materially based desires of the personality (Daughter principle) are the prime motivating influence for the activity of Mars. In this case, his place is in Pachad-5 (the abstract mind) where he is forced to endure the ordeals of 'Judgement'. Therein he learns true spiritual discernment. The results of his sometimes painful lessons flow on to Venus (in Netzah-7) whose desires and values become transformed and purified by Mars' Pachad-5 experiences.

With the building of the creative thread Venus and Mars (effectively) exchange their positions ~ an event that symbolises a change in the values/desires of Venus and thus also a change in the focus of Mars. Mars transforms himself from a 'rampaging materialistic warrior, pillaging, raping and looting', and becomes instead a 'virtuous knight' devoted to 'God' in his quest for the Holy Grail. Venus is transformed from her image of a 'licentious prostitute' desirous of material pleasures and becomes the sacred 'virgin', the image of the Holy Grail. Here Venus represents the abstract mind pregnant with the creative will/purpose of the Father. And Mars directs his whole being (his astral/physical force) to unfolding the physical manifestation of the Father's abstract purpose within the body of Mother Earth.

The 'Christ body of light' is symbolised on the Tree of Life by the planetoid Chiron. According to Djwal Khul we acquire this divine body immediately following the 4th initiation (the 'Crucifixion') and prior to the 5th initiation (the 'Revelation') in what Christian occultism calls the 'Ascension'. (See, The Rays and the Initiations, pg. 704.) In our scheme (see Figure 4) Saturn signifies the 4th initiation and is located in Daath-11. Chiron is also located in Daath and is the symbol for the bridge between the four lower planes and the three higher planes of our solar system. In astrological terms, Chiron is a bridge between the seven inner 'planets' (Sol to Saturn) and the three outer planets (Uranus to Pluto).

Figure 4.

There are numerous correspondences between Chiron and the Christ force. For instance, the name Chiron, when transliterated into Hebrew (using Heth for H) is valued 358 which is also the number of 'Messiah':

Also Chiron apparently rules the sign Virgo, and therefore is symbolically born of the Virgin Mother. And it is also interesting to note that the Christian symbol 'Chi-Rho' ~ a monogram for Christ, resembles somewhat the astrological symbol for Chiron (when inverted). The discovery of Chiron in 1977 seems to have heralded the beginning of the 'ascension process' for planet Earth. As the old saying goes ~ 'When the student is ready the Master appears'. Is Chiron the initiator for Humanity as we build (or tread) the rainbow bridge', don our Christ body of light, and enter into the 4th/5th dimensions?

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Patrick (Maut-Su-Jah) - Updated: April, 2000