Septenary (Theosophy) Totally Explained

Everything about Septenary Theosophy totally explained

The Septenary in H.P. Blavatsky's teachings refers to the seven principles of man. In The Key to Theosophy, pp.90-93 she presents a synthesis of Eastern (Advaita Vedanta, Samkhya) and Western (Platonism, 19th century Occultism) ideas, according to which human nature consists of seven principles. These are:

Atma - Spirit - One with the Absolute, as its radiation
Buddhi - Spiritual Soul - The vehicle of pure universal spirit
Manas - It has a dual nature, consisting of: a Higher Manas, the spiritual, inner, or higher Ego; and a Lower Manas, the ordinary mind which tends to join itself to the Kama (desire)
Kama rupa - the "Desire Form", the seat of animal desires and passions
Prana - The Life or Vital principle
Linga Sharira - the Double or phantom body; also called the Astral body
Sthula Sharira - the Gross Physical body

Despite using Sanskrit terminology, many of these concepts are expressed differently from their Indian counterparts. The Atman or Self in monistic Vedanta for example is considered the Universal Self that's the same as, and not just a "ray" of, the Absolute or Brahman.
   These seven principles can be grouped into a three-fold division of Monad (transcendent Spirit, consisting of Atma and Buddhi), Ego (the higher immortal spiritual Personality, made up of the Higher Manas only) and Lower Quaternity (the mortal personality, the Lower Manas and the remaining principles). In this, the Lower Manas is a transitional principle, the soul so to speak, which can choose to join either with the Kama (Desire) principle to form the "Kama-Manas", which becomes an "elementary" or "astral" spirit after death (equivalent perhaps to the preta or hungry ghost of Buddhism), or link with the higher or Buddhi principle to form a higher spiritual consciousness, the "Buddhi-Manas".
   As well as seven subtle bodies, there are also seven Kosmic Planes of existence. However, in Blavatsky's teachings, the Planes and Principles don't match up (post-Blavatskian re-interpreters like C.W. Leadbeater reinterpreted the seven principles so they equate with the seven planes; this interpretation since became standard everywhere but original or orthodox Blavatskyian Theosophy).
   While undergoing some changes and modifications in the hands of later esotericists such as Leadbeater, Rudolph Steiner, and Alice Bailey, Blavatsky's description of the seven bodies or principles remained a central part of western esoteric and New Age thinking ever since.

Further Information

Get more info on 'Septenary Theosophy'.

External Link Exchanges

Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:

<a href="http://septenary__theosophy.totallyexplained.com">Septenary (Theosophy) Totally Explained</a>

Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned.