Musings From A Secret Doctrine Class

THE EYE OF DANGMA

(Reflections on the first page of the Proem)

This first page of the Proem opens up a magnificent vista to the student of inner learning. Not only does it point towards the source of all ‘Being, and indeed of all ‘non-Being , that ever incognisable PRESENCE, but it also points towards that knowledge alone which is achievable by humanity —that knowledge which lies within the Universal Soul. In the first few lines H.P.B. writes, "An Archaic Manuscript . . . is before the writer s eye." We might presume that the palm leaves which make up the manuscript and upon which the symbols are found are fragments of the esoteric doctrine that is handed down through the generations from seer to seer. That the word "eye" is of three letters and is the third word on the third line may suggest that it is the "third eye" that the writer is alluding to in the text. Is there a hint here that this is the level of looking that the student must develop in order to understand the wisdom contained therein? After all, HPB informs us later on the Proem (page 21) that the Stanzas appeal to the inner faculties of the student. Of course, one must ask what really is the third eye? We may know something about this ‘eye in relation to psychic vision and clairvoyance but what might its deeper meaning be? We find a very pertinent clue to this in Stanza 1, sloka 8:

Alone, the one form of existence stretched boundless, infinite, causeless, in dreamless sleep; and life pulsated unconscious in universal space, throughout that All-Presence which is sensed by the "Opened Eye" of the Dangma. (SD I 46)

In the footnote to this page we are informed that Dangma is a purified soul, the highest Adept no less:

His "opened eye" is the inner spiritual eye of the seer, and the faculty which manifests through it is not clairvoyance as ordinarily understood, i.e., the power of seeing at a distance, but rather the faculty of spiritual intuition, through which direct and certain knowledge is obtainable. This faculty is intimately connected with the "third eye". . . . (SD I 46)

We might note in passing that spiritual intuition is not in itself the ‘opened eye . It is the "opened eye" of the purified soul that senses the All-Presence. It is through the opened eye that the faculty of spiritual intuition operates, and it is through the latter that direct and certain spiritual knowledge is available. This seems to suggest that the ability to sense the All-Presence, at least to some degree, is a prerequisite for the faculty of spiritual intuition to operate.

In one way it seems quite extraordinary that that All-Presence can be sensed for we know from page 2 onwards of the Proem that the One Life, the One True Existence, is unrealisable and cannot be perceived. For if either of these two were possible it would mean IT was capable of becoming an object of knowledge or perception to some form of consciousness, and no matter how high that consciousness might be that which can be perceived or known as an object to consciousness cannot possibly be infinite. As Sankaracharya is made to say on page 6, "[t]he knowledge of the absolute Spirit . . . is naught else than the absolute Essence itself." THAT is beyond the duality of subject-object consciousness — to know it is to be it. Since no one, not even the highest Adept can claim to be that All-Presence, Its knowledge cannot be grasped . . . and yet, it can be sensed.

We should note that in the quote above H.P.B. has placed the emphasis on ‘sensing rather than ‘seeing . We may perhaps get a sense of this, although many steps removed, when we lift our heads and gaze into the dark night sky. That infinite space which stretches endlessly in every direction cannot be realised, it cannot be cognised, it is beyond the range and reach of both perception and thought, and yet . . . it can be sensed, and this sensing may bring a feeling of profound wonder in the fathomless depths of our being as we bow down before that unknowable Mystery. We can have a sense of that which cannot be grasped even if we cannot know it directly. What else other than this sensing of the Infinite can adequately explain that phrase in "The Elixir of Life": "Meditation is the inexpressible yearning of the inner Man to ‘go out towards the infinite, which in the olden time was the real meaning of adoration"? (The Theosophist April 1882: 169)

In Stanza 5, sloka 4 we find that ‘sensing and ‘seeing are once more clearly distinguished between. The Master asks the pupil:

"Lift thy head, oh Lanoo; dost thou see one, or countless lights above thee, burning in the midnight sky?"

"I sense one Flame, oh Gurudeva, I see countless undetached sparks shining in it."

"Thou sayest well. And now look around and into thyself. That light which burns inside thee, dost thou feel it different in anywise from the light that shines in thy Brother-men?"

"It is in no way different, though the prisoner is held in bondage by Karma, and though its outer garments delude the ignorant in saying, ‘Thy Soul and My Soul. " (SD I 120)

We might note in passing that whilst our modern approach is to place great emphasis on the power of thought, in the passage above what counts is that which is sensed and felt — neither of the latter imply emotions, quite the opposite in fact. What is sensed and felt above is a direct experience, to some degree, of Unity. Thoughts and emotions are usually about something, and thus rest on the experience of duality, even when these thoughts and emotions are about Unity.

If we return to symbolism on the first page of the Proem we might ask, "What then is ‘that which is sensed?" "What is that certain knowledge which is available through the inner spiritual eye of the seer?" Is it the dull black ground, the ever incognisable PRESENCE? Or is it the plane of the circle, symbolising the Universal Soul? One cannot help but sense that both are being alluded to in the text. We might understand it as follows: It is the All Presence, ever incognisable (hence symbolised by the dull black ground), that is sensed by the ‘opened eye. The direct and certain knowledge attained through the faculty of spiritual intuition derives from the Universal Soul — on which the Manvantaric manifestation begins, and in which lies concealed the Divine Thought. The latter, we are told, contains the plan of every future Cosmogony, i.e. of all that will manifest in the coming manvantara(s). As vast as this Knowledge is, containing as it does the totality of all that is to be, we recognise that it is still limited in relation to the ever incognisable Presence, thus HPB writes:

Only the face of the Disk being white and the ground all around black, shows clearly that its plane is the only knowledge, dim and hazy though it still is, that is attainable by man. (SD I 1)

So, what does all this mean for the student of the Secret Doctrine? We might say that if our reflections and contemplations on the knowledge contained therein are to bear fruit they must take place within the ground of that All Presence. In other words our strivings to understand must be grounded in the ONE LIFE, the Unity of ALL in ALL. It was suggested above that the ability to sense the All-Presence is a pre-requisite for the faculty of spiritual intuition to operate. However, we are informed that this faculty is only fully developed in the highest Adept. Does this mean then that all is lost to us until we reach that stage? Let us take the maxim of "as above so below" and apply it in this case and see what we may find. We discover on page 1 that "[t]he one circle is divine Unity, from which all proceeds, whither all returns."

This Divine Unity, symbolised by the one circle, is thus the alpha and omega of all existence. On the principle of "as above so below" we may deduce that what is attained at the last step (i.e. the highest adept above) is also that which is required at the first, or to put it yet another way, "the first shall be last." Thus to sense that All-Presence, that all encompassing One-ness, is the starting point not just the ending. The importance of understanding this is highlighted in the Occult Catechism (quote above from Page 120) where the Master asks the pupil:

[L]ook around and into thyself. That light which burns inside thee, dost thou feel it different in anywise from the light that shines in thy Brother-men?

"Brotherhood is no idle phrase" says the Master. For if we do not have that feeling of Unity, that sense of Universal Brotherhood, that sense of the underlying unity with all Life, then our studies will falter. At best they may just become barren, at worst to study the Occult Doctrine without this sense of Unity may lead our steps, albeit unconsciously, onto the left hand path. As HPB points out through the symbolism on page 5, once entirely separated from its Circle that which is found so easily turns into the sign of human sorcery — the five pointed star reversed. The Master M. writes:

It is he alone who has the love of humanity at heart, who is capable of grasping thoroughly the idea of a regenerating practical Brotherhood who is entitled to the possession of our secrets. (Mahatma Letters, TUP, 252)