THE DESIRE BODY FROM A STUDY OF CONSCOUSNESS 2. THE ASTRAL OR DESIRE BODY. The evolution of the astral body must be studied in relation to the physical, for while it plays the part of a creator on the physical plane, as we have seen, its own further development largely depends on the impulses received through the very organism it has created. It does not, for a long time, enjoy an independent life of its own on its own plane, and the organisa-tion of the astral body in relation to the physical is quite a different matter, and much earlier in time, than its organisation in relation to the astral world. In the East they speak of the astral and mental vehicles of consciousness, when acting in relation to the physical, as koshas, or sheaths, and use the term sharira, or body, for a form capable of independent action in the visible and invisible worlds. This distinction may serve us here. The astral sheath of the mineral is a mere cloud of appropriated astral matter, and does not show any perceptible signs of organisation. The same is the case with most vegetables, but in some there seem to be certain indications of aggrega-tions and lines, which, in the light of later evolution, appear to be the dawn of incipient organisation; and in some old forest trees distinct aggregations of astral matter are visible at certain points. In animals these aggregations become clearly marked and definite, forming centres in the astral sheath of a permanent and specialised kind. These aggregations in the astral sheath are the beginnings of the centres which will build up the necessary organs in the physical body, and are not the often-named chakras, or wheels, which belong to the organisation of the astral body itself, and fit it for functioning on its own plane in connexion with the mental sheath, as the lower type of the eastern sukshma sharira, or subtle body. The astral chakras are connected with the astral senses, so that a person in whom they are developed can see, hear, etc., on the astral plane; they lie far ahead of the point in evolution that we are considering, a point at which the per-ceptive powers of consciousness have not yet any organ, even on the physical plane. As these aggregations in the astral sheath appear, the impulses of conscious-ness on the astral plane, guided as before explained, play on the etheric double, forming the etheric whirlpools already mentioned, and corresponding centres thus arise in the astral sheath and physical body, the sympathetic system being thus built up. This system always remains thus directly connected with the astral centres, even after the cerebro-spinal system is evolved. But from the aggregations in the fore-part or the astral sheath, ten important centres are formed, which become connected with the brain through the sympathetic sys-tem, and gradually become the dominant organs for the activities of the physical, or waking-consciousness - that is, for that part of the consciousness which func-tions normally through the cerebro-spinal system. Five out of the ten serve to receive special impressions from the outside world, and are the centres through which consciousness uses its perceptive powers; they are called in Sanskrit, Jnanendriyas, literally “knowledge-senses”, i.e., senses, or sense-centres, by which knowledge is obtained. These set up, in the way before explained, five distinct etheric whirlpools, and thus construct five centres in the physical brain; these, in turn, severally shape and remain connected with their appropriate sense-organs. Thus arise the five sense-organs: the eyes, ears, tongue, nose, skin, specialised to receive impressions from the outer world, corresponding to the five perceptive powers of seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, feeling. These are specialised ways in the lower worlds by which part of the perceptive ability of consciousness, its power of receiving external contacts, is exercised. They belong to the lower worlds and to the grosser forms of matter which shut consciousness in, and prevent it, thus enwrapped, from knowing other lives; they are openings in this dense veil of matter, permitting vibrations to enter in and reach the shrouded consciousness. The remaining five of these ten astral centres serve to convey vibrations from consciousness to the outer word; they are the avenues outwards, as the knowledge-senses are the avenues in-wards; they are named Karmendriyas, literally action-senses, senses or sense-centres which cause action. These develop like the others, forming etheric whirlpools, which make the motor-centres in the physical brain; these, again, severally shape and remain connected with their appropriate motor-organs, hands, feet, larynx, and organs of generation and excretion. We have now an organised astral sheath, and the continual action and re-action between this and the physical body improve both, and these together act on the consciousness and it re-acts on them, both again gaining by this mutual interaction. And as we have already seen, these blind impulses of consciousness are guided in their play upon matter by the Logic life in the Group-Soul and by the Nature-Spirits. Always it is life, con-sciousness, seeking to realise itself in matter, and matter responding in virtue of its own inherent qualities, vitalised by the action of the Third Logos.
Posted on: Sun, 09 Jun 2013 20:08:20 +0000