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Fohat

2014-09-19T17:59:42Z

Morry Secrest:

:''For the Theosophical journal see [[Fohat (periodical)]]''

'''Fohat''' is a term of unknown origin, although [[H. P. Blavatsky]] claims it comes from the Tibetan language. According to her it is "one of the most, if not the most important character in esoteric Cosmogony".<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, Ill: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 109.</ref> Maybe because of this, it can be found in many forms. As Mme. Blavatsky said:

<blockquote>Fohat is a generic term and used in many senses. He is the light (Daiviprakriti) of all the three logoi—the personified symbols of the three spiritual stages of Evolution. Fohat is the aggregate of all the spiritual creative ideations above, and of all the electro-dynamic and creative forces below, in Heaven and on Earth.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 334.</ref></blockquote>

Fohat is "the animating principle electrifying every atom into life."<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, Ill: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 16</ref> During the process of manifestation it is the cosmic energy which produces the differentiation of primordial [[cosmic matter]] to form the different [[Plane|planes]]. In the manifested Universe, Fohat is the link between spirit and matter, subject and object.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, Ill: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 16.</ref>

In [[The Theosophical Glossary (book)|''The Theosophical Glossary'']] [[H. P. Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]] defined it as follows:

<blockquote>'''Fohat''' (Tib.) A term used to represent the active (male) potency of the Sakti (female reproductive power) in nature. The essence of cosmic electricity. An occult Tibetan term for ''Daiviprakriti'', primordial light: and in the universe of manifestation the ever-present electrical energy and ceaseless destructive and formative power. Esoterically, it is the same, Fohat being the universal propelling Vital Force, at once the propeller and the resultant.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Theosophical Glossary'' (Krotona, CA: Theosophical Publishing House, 1973), 120-121.</ref></blockquote>

At the beginning of a [[manvantara]] Fohat is the active power through which the plan for the new universe present in the [[Logos]] is manifested objectively:

<blockquote>It is the “bridge” by which the “Ideas” existing in the “Divine Thought” are impressed on Cosmic substance as the “laws of Nature”. Fohat is thus the dynamic energy of Cosmic Ideation; or, regarded from the other side, it is the intelligent medium, the guiding power of all manifestation, the “Thought Divine” transmitted and made manifest through the Dhyan Chohans, the Architects of the visible World.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, Ill: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 16.</ref></blockquote>

It is also the cause for the differentiation of the [[cosmic matter|primordial matter]] into the [[Plane|seven planes]]

<blockquote>Thrilling through the bosom of inert Substance, Fohat impels it to activity, and guides its primary differentiations on all the Seven planes of Cosmic Consciousness.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, Ill: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 328.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>In the phenomenal and Cosmic World, he is that Occult, electric, vital power, which, under the Will of the Creative Logos, brings together the elemental atoms and makes them aggregate and combine. Fohat, running along the seven principles of AKASA, acts upon manifested substance or the One Element and by differentiating it into various centres of Energy, sets in motion the law of Cosmic Evolution, which, in obedience to the Ideation of the Universal Mind, brings into existence all the various states of being in the manifested Solar System.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, Ill: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 110.</ref></blockquote>

Fohat manifests in different ways on each plane:

<blockquote>On the earthly plane his influence is felt in the magnetic and active force generated by the strong desire of the magnetizer. On the Cosmic, it is present in the constructive power that carries out, in the formation of things -- from the planetary system down to the glow-worm and simple daisy -- the plan in the mind of nature, or in the Divine Thought, with regard to the development and growth of that special thing. He is, metaphysically, the objectivised thought of the gods; the "Word made flesh," on a lower scale, and the messenger of Cosmic and human ideations: the active force in Universal Life. In his secondary aspect, Fohat is the Solar Energy, the electric vital fluid,* and the preserving fourth principle, the animal Soul of Nature, so to say, or -- Electricity.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, Ill: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 111-112.</ref></blockquote>

Since Fohat acts as the power of attraction between atoms, it is seen as the Divine Love:

<blockquote>Fohat, in his capacity of DIVINE LOVE (Eros), the electric Power of affinity and sympathy, is shown allegorically as trying to bring the pure Spirit, the Ray inseparable from the ONE absolute, into union with the Soul, the two constituting in Man the MONAD, and in Nature the first link between the ever unconditioned and the manifested.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, Ill: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 119.</ref></blockquote>

Interestingly, Fohat is seen as an entity (without implying anthropomorphism). Mme. Blavatsky wrote:

<blockquote>Fohat, then, is the personified electric vital power, the transcendental binding Unity of all Cosmic Energies, on the unseen as on the manifested planes, the action of which resembles --on an immense scale-- that of a living Force created by WILL, in those phenomena where the seemingly subjective acts on the seemingly objective and propels it to action. Fohat is not only the living Symbol and Container of that Force, but is looked upon by the Occultists as an Entity -- the forces he acts upon being cosmic, human and terrestrial, and exercising their influence on all those planes respectively.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, Ill: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 111.</ref></blockquote>

According to [[H. P. Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]] the [[swastika]] is the symbol for the activity of Fohat:

<blockquote>Few world-symbols are more pregnant with real occult meaning than the Swastica. It is the emblem of the activity of Fohat, of the continual revolution of the “wheels”, and of the Four Elements, the “Sacred Four”. One initiated into the mysteries of the meaning of the Swastica, say the Commentaries, “can trace on it, with mathematical precision, the evolution of Kosmos and the whole period of Sandhya.” Also “the relation of the Seen to the Unseen”, and “the first procreation of man and species”.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Secret Doctrine'' vol. II, (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1979), 587.</ref></blockquote>

==Online resources==
===Articles===
*[http://www.theosophy.ph/encyclo/index.php?title=Fohat# Fohat] at Theosopedia
*[http://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/1685# The Ethics and Sociology of Fohat] by Robert Ellwood
*[http://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/1687# On Fohat] by Joy Mills

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Theosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Concepts in The Secret Doctrine]]

Fohat

2014-09-17T19:30:58Z

Morry Secrest:

:''For the Theosophical journal see [[Fohat (periodical)]]''

'''Fohat''' is a term of unknown origin, although [[H. P. Blavatsky]] claims it comes from the Tibetan language. According to her it is "one of the most, if not the most important character in esoteric Cosmogony".<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, Ill: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 109.</ref> Maybe because of this, it can be found in many forms. As Mme. Blavatsky said:

<blockquote>Fohat is a generic term and used in many senses. He is the light (Daiviprakriti) of all the three logoi—the personified symbols of the three spiritual stages of Evolution. Fohat is the aggregate of all the spiritual creative ideations above, and of all the electro-dynamic and creative forces below, in Heaven and on Earth.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 334.</ref></blockquote>

Fohat, is "the animating principle electrifying every atom into life."<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, Ill: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 16</ref> During the process of manifestation it is the cosmic energy which produces the differentiation of primordial [[cosmic matter]] to form the different [[Plane|planes]]. In the manifested Universe, Fohat is the link between spirit and matter, subject and object.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, Ill: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 16.</ref>

In [[The Theosophical Glossary (book)|''The Theosophical Glossary'']] [[H. P. Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]] defined it as follows:

<blockquote>'''Fohat''' (Tib.) A term used to represent the active (male) potency of the Sakti (female reproductive power) in nature. The essence of cosmic electricity. An occult Tibetan term for ''Daiviprakriti'', primordial light: and in the universe of manifestation the ever-present electrical energy and ceaseless destructive and formative power. Esoterically, it is the same, Fohat being the universal propelling Vital Force, at once the propeller and the resultant.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Theosophical Glossary'' (Krotona, CA: Theosophical Publishing House, 1973), 120-121.</ref></blockquote>

At the beginning of a [[manvantara]] Fohat is the active power through which the plan for the new universe present in the [[Logos]] is manifested objectively:

<blockquote>It is the “bridge” by which the “Ideas” existing in the “Divine Thought” are impressed on Cosmic substance as the “laws of Nature”. Fohat is thus the dynamic energy of Cosmic Ideation; or, regarded from the other side, it is the intelligent medium, the guiding power of all manifestation, the “Thought Divine” transmitted and made manifest through the Dhyan Chohans, the Architects of the visible World.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, Ill: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 16.</ref></blockquote>

It is also the cause for the differentiation of the [[cosmic matter|primordial matter]] into the [[Plane|seven planes]]

<blockquote>Thrilling through the bosom of inert Substance, Fohat impels it to activity, and guides its primary differentiations on all the Seven planes of Cosmic Consciousness.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, Ill: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 328.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>In the phenomenal and Cosmic World, he is that Occult, electric, vital power, which, under the Will of the Creative Logos, brings together the elemental atoms and makes them aggregate and combine. Fohat, running along the seven principles of AKASA, acts upon manifested substance or the One Element and by differentiating it into various centres of Energy, sets in motion the law of Cosmic Evolution, which, in obedience to the Ideation of the Universal Mind, brings into existence all the various states of being in the manifested Solar System.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, Ill: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 110.</ref></blockquote>

Fohat manifests in different ways on each plane:

<blockquote>On the earthly plane his influence is felt in the magnetic and active force generated by the strong desire of the magnetizer. On the Cosmic, it is present in the constructive power that carries out, in the formation of things -- from the planetary system down to the glow-worm and simple daisy -- the plan in the mind of nature, or in the Divine Thought, with regard to the development and growth of that special thing. He is, metaphysically, the objectivised thought of the gods; the "Word made flesh," on a lower scale, and the messenger of Cosmic and human ideations: the active force in Universal Life. In his secondary aspect, Fohat is the Solar Energy, the electric vital fluid,* and the preserving fourth principle, the animal Soul of Nature, so to say, or -- Electricity.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, Ill: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 111-112.</ref></blockquote>

Since Fohat acts as the power of attraction between atoms, it is seen as the Divine Love:

<blockquote>Fohat, in his capacity of DIVINE LOVE (Eros), the electric Power of affinity and sympathy, is shown allegorically as trying to bring the pure Spirit, the Ray inseparable from the ONE absolute, into union with the Soul, the two constituting in Man the MONAD, and in Nature the first link between the ever unconditioned and the manifested.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, Ill: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 119.</ref></blockquote>

Interestingly, Fohat is seen as an entity (without implying anthropomorphism). Mme. Blavatsky wrote:

<blockquote>Fohat, then, is the personified electric vital power, the transcendental binding Unity of all Cosmic Energies, on the unseen as on the manifested planes, the action of which resembles --on an immense scale-- that of a living Force created by WILL, in those phenomena where the seemingly subjective acts on the seemingly objective and propels it to action. Fohat is not only the living Symbol and Container of that Force, but is looked upon by the Occultists as an Entity -- the forces he acts upon being cosmic, human and terrestrial, and exercising their influence on all those planes respectively.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, Ill: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 111.</ref></blockquote>

According to [[H. P. Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]] the [[swastika]] is the symbol for the activity of Fohat:

<blockquote>Few world-symbols are more pregnant with real occult meaning than the Swastica. It is the emblem of the activity of Fohat, of the continual revolution of the “wheels”, and of the Four Elements, the “Sacred Four”. One initiated into the mysteries of the meaning of the Swastica, say the Commentaries, “can trace on it, with mathematical precision, the evolution of Kosmos and the whole period of Sandhya.” Also “the relation of the Seen to the Unseen”, and “the first procreation of man and species”.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Secret Doctrine'' vol. II, (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1979), 587.</ref></blockquote>

==Online resources==
===Articles===
*[http://www.theosophy.ph/encyclo/index.php?title=Fohat# Fohat] at Theosopedia
*[http://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/1685# The Ethics and Sociology of Fohat] by Robert Ellwood
*[http://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/1687# On Fohat] by Joy Mills

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Theosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Concepts in The Secret Doctrine]]

Fohat

2014-09-17T19:18:49Z

Morry Secrest:

:''For the Theosophical journal see [[Fohat (periodical)]]''

'''Fohat''' is a term of unknown origin, although [[H. P. Blavatsky]] claims it comes from the Tibetan language. According to her it is "one of the most, if not the most important character in esoteric Cosmogony".<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, Ill: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 109.</ref> Maybe because of this, it can be found in many forms. As Mme. Blavatsky said:

<blockquote>Fohat is a generic term and used in many senses. He is the light (Daiviprakriti) of all the three logoi—the personified symbols of the three spiritual stages of Evolution. Fohat is the aggregate of all the spiritual creative ideations above, and of all the electro-dynamic and creative forces below, in Heaven and on Earth.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 334.</ref></blockquote>

Fohat, is "the animating principle electrifying every atom into life."<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, Ill: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 16</ref> During the process of manifestation it is the cosmic energy which produces the differentiation of primordial [[cosmic matter]] to form the different [[Plane|planes]]. In the manifested Universe, Fohat is the link between spirit and matter, subject and object.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, Ill: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 16.</ref>

In [[The Theosophical Glossary (book)|''The Theosophical Glossary'']] [[H. P. Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]] defined it as follows:

<blockquote>'''Fohat''' (Tib.) A term used to represent the active (male) potency of the Sakti (female reproductive power) in nature. The essence of cosmic electricity. An occult Tibetan term for Daiviprakriti primordial light: and in the universe of manifestation the ever-present electrical energy and ceaseless destructive and formative power. Esoterically, it is the same, Fohat being the universal propelling Vital Force, at once the propeller and the resultant.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Theosophical Glossary'' (Krotona, CA: Theosophical Publishing House, 1973), 120-121.</ref></blockquote>

At the beginning of a [[manvantara]] Fohat is the active power through which the plan for the new universe present in the [[Logos]] is manifested objectively:

<blockquote>It is the “bridge” by which the “Ideas” existing in the “Divine Thought” are impressed on Cosmic substance as the “laws of Nature”. Fohat is thus the dynamic energy of Cosmic Ideation; or, regarded from the other side, it is the intelligent medium, the guiding power of all manifestation, the “Thought Divine” transmitted and made manifest through the Dhyan Chohans, the Architects of the visible World.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, Ill: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 16.</ref></blockquote>

It is also the cause for the differentiation of the [[cosmic matter|primordial matter]] into the [[Plane|seven planes]]

<blockquote>Thrilling through the bosom of inert Substance, Fohat impels it to activity, and guides its primary differentiations on all the Seven planes of Cosmic Consciousness.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, Ill: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 328.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>In the phenomenal and Cosmic World, he is that Occult, electric, vital power, which, under the Will of the Creative Logos, brings together the elemental atoms and makes them aggregate and combine. Fohat, running along the seven principles of AKASA, acts upon manifested substance or the One Element and by differentiating it into various centres of Energy, sets in motion the law of Cosmic Evolution, which, in obedience to the Ideation of the Universal Mind, brings into existence all the various states of being in the manifested Solar System.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, Ill: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 110.</ref></blockquote>

Fohat manifests in different ways on each plane:

<blockquote>On the earthly plane his influence is felt in the magnetic and active force generated by the strong desire of the magnetizer. On the Cosmic, it is present in the constructive power that carries out, in the formation of things -- from the planetary system down to the glow-worm and simple daisy -- the plan in the mind of nature, or in the Divine Thought, with regard to the development and growth of that special thing. He is, metaphysically, the objectivised thought of the gods; the "Word made flesh," on a lower scale, and the messenger of Cosmic and human ideations: the active force in Universal Life. In his secondary aspect, Fohat is the Solar Energy, the electric vital fluid,* and the preserving fourth principle, the animal Soul of Nature, so to say, or -- Electricity.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, Ill: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 111-112.</ref></blockquote>

Since Fohat acts as the power of attraction between atoms, it is seen as the Divine Love:

<blockquote>Fohat, in his capacity of DIVINE LOVE (Eros), the electric Power of affinity and sympathy, is shown allegorically as trying to bring the pure Spirit, the Ray inseparable from the ONE absolute, into union with the Soul, the two constituting in Man the MONAD, and in Nature the first link between the ever unconditioned and the manifested.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, Ill: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 119.</ref></blockquote>

Interestingly, Fohat is seen as an entity (without implying anthropomorphism). Mme. Blavatsky wrote:

<blockquote>Fohat, then, is the personified electric vital power, the transcendental binding Unity of all Cosmic Energies, on the unseen as on the manifested planes, the action of which resembles --on an immense scale-- that of a living Force created by WILL, in those phenomena where the seemingly subjective acts on the seemingly objective and propels it to action. Fohat is not only the living Symbol and Container of that Force, but is looked upon by the Occultists as an Entity -- the forces he acts upon being cosmic, human and terrestrial, and exercising their influence on all those planes respectively.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, Ill: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 111.</ref></blockquote>

According to [[H. P. Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]] the [[swastika]] is the symbol for the activity of Fohat:

<blockquote>Few world-symbols are more pregnant with real occult meaning than the Swastica. It is the emblem of the activity of Fohat, of the continual revolution of the “wheels”, and of the Four Elements, the “Sacred Four”. One initiated into the mysteries of the meaning of the Swastica, say the Commentaries, “can trace on it, with mathematical precision, the evolution of Kosmos and the whole period of Sandhya.” Also “the relation of the Seen to the Unseen”, and “the first procreation of man and species”.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Secret Doctrine'' vol. II, (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1979), 587.</ref></blockquote>

==Online resources==
===Articles===
*[http://www.theosophy.ph/encyclo/index.php?title=Fohat# Fohat] at Theosopedia
*[http://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/1685# The Ethics and Sociology of Fohat] by Robert Ellwood
*[http://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/1687# On Fohat] by Joy Mills

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Theosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Concepts in The Secret Doctrine]]

Space

2014-09-16T14:49:16Z

Morry Secrest:

'''Space''' is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In the Theosophical view there is not only the physical space we perceive, but there are other unperceived dimensions or "[[plane]]s" constituted by different kinds of [[matter]]. All these planes have place within the cosmic space, which is a temporal manifestation of the eternal pre-cosmic absolute abstract space.

== General description ==

In [[Theosophy|Theosophical]] literature "space", when treated as an abstract metaphysical principle, is used as symbol for the [[Absolute Reality]] and actually seen as one aspect of it:

<blockquote>The One All is like Space—which is its only mental and physical representation on this Earth, or our plane of existence—neither an object of, nor a subject to, perception. Space is neither a “limitless void”, nor a “conditioned fulness”, but both: being, on the plane of absolute abstraction, the ever-incognisable Deity, which is void only to finite minds, and on that of mayavic perception, the Plenum, the absolute Container of all that is, whether manifested or unmanifested: it is, therefore, that ABSOLUTE ALL.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, Ill: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 8</ref></blockquote>

A similar concept is found in [[Mahatma Letter No. 119#Page 4|one of the letters]] from [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] who wrote:

<blockquote>The [[Tibetan Buddhist canon#Tantras|book of Khiu-te]] teaches us that space is infinity itself. It is formless, immutable and absolute.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 119 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 407.</ref></blockquote>

== Absolute abstract space ==

In the [[Three Fundamental Propositions#First Fundamental Proposition|first Fundamental Proposition]] found in the Proem of [[The Secret Doctrine (book)|''The Secret Doctrine'']], [[H. P. Blavatsky]] says that the ultimate Reality is symbolised under two aspects, one of which is "absolute abstract Space, representing bare subjectivity, the one thing which no human mind can either exclude from any conception, or conceive of by itself":<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, Ill: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 14</ref>

<blockquote>Now, for us, space is a word which has no meaning unless we limit and condition it; but in reality, space is the most abstract thing, and space containing all is just that unknown deity which is invisible and which we cannot understand, which we can but intellectually sense.<ref>Michael Gomes (transcriber), ''The Secret Doctrine Commentaries'' (The Hague: I.S.I.S. foundation, 2010), 66.</ref></blockquote>

Space, in its absolute, sense is different from the relative physical space we know of:

<blockquote>. . . Space, which is an abstraction too, and is equally without beginning or end. It is in its concretency and limitation only that it becomes a representation and something. Of course the distance between two points is called space; it may be enormous or it may be infinitesimal, yet it will always be space. But all such specifications are divisions in human conception. In reality Space is what the ancients called the One invisible and unknown (now unknowable) Deity.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 310.</ref></blockquote>

Thus, space is seen as the one eternal and immutable principle:

<blockquote>“What is that which was, is, and will be, whether there is a Universe or not; whether there be gods or none?” asks the esoteric Senzar Catechism. And the answer made is—SPACE.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, Ill: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 9</ref></blockquote>

== Pre-cosmic space ==

In the [[Stanzas of Dzyan#Stanza I|first cosmological Stanza]] Mme. Blavatsky talks about the "Eternal Parent". This refers to the space in its unmanifested condition, before the manifestation of the cosmos:

<blockquote>Q. What aspect of Space, or the unknown deity, called in the Vedas “THAT,” which is mentioned further on, is here called the “Eternal Parent”?
 
A. It is the Vedantic [[Mulaprakriti]], and the [[Svabhavat]] of the Buddhists, or that androgynous something of which we have been speaking, which is both differentiated and undifferentiated. In its first principle it is a pure abstraction, which becomes differentiated only when it is transformed, in the process of time, into Prakriti. If compared with the human principles it corresponds to Buddhi, while Atma would correspond to Parabrahm, Manas to Mahat, and so on.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 303-304.</ref></blockquote>

The sloka describes that before the re-awakening of the universe the "eternal parent" is "wrapped in her ever invisible robes." These refer to "the substance . . . on the seventh plane of matter counting upwards, or rather from without within."<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 35.</ref> At this stage, space has the germ for all the septenaries that will be manifested. This is frequently called the seven-skinned "[[Father-Mother|Mother-Father]]":

<blockquote>Space is called in the esoteric symbolism “the Seven-Skinned Eternal Mother-Father.” It is composed from its undifferentiated to its differentiated surface of seven layers.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 9.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Q. What, then, are the seven layers of Space, for in the “Proem” we read about the “Seven-skinned Mother-Father”? 
A. Plato and Hermes Trismegistus would have regarded this as the Divine Thought, and Aristotle would have viewed this “Mother-Father” as the “privation” of matter. It is that which will become the seven planes of being, commencing with the spiritual and passing through the psychic to the material plane. The seven planes of thought or the seven states of consciousness correspond to these planes. All these septenaries are symbolized by the seven Skins.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 304.</ref></blockquote>

== Cosmic space ==

<blockquote>Space is called the “[[Mother (symbol)|Mother]]” before its Cosmic activity, and Father-Mother at the first stage of re-awakening.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 18.</ref></blockquote>

In [[Mahatma Letter No. 119#Page 4|one of the letters]] from [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] he relates space with the [[Mahat|Universal Mind]]:

<blockquote>Like the [[Manas|human mind]], which is the exhaustless generator of ideas, the Universal Mind or Space has its ideation which is projected into objectivity at the appointed [[time]]; but space itself is not affected thereby.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 119 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 407.</ref></blockquote>

=== No empty space ===

[[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]] quotes a "private commentary hitherto secret" as follows:

<blockquote>As its [the seventh plane's] substance is of a different kind from that known on earth, the inhabitants of the latter, seeing THROUGH IT, believe in their illusion and ignorance that it is empty space. There is not one finger’s breath (ANGULA) of void Space in the whole Boundless (Universe). . . . .<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 289.</ref></blockquote>

== Scientific view of space ==

In classical mechanics space is one of the few fundamental quantities in physics, which means it cannot be defined via other quantities because nothing more fundamental is known at the present.

In cosmology, it is postulated that space was created in the Big Bang, 13.7 billion years ago and has been expanding ever since very rapidly due to the Cosmic Inflation.

Before Einstein's work on relativistic physics, [[time]] and space were viewed as independent dimensions. His discoveries showed that our space and time can be mathematically combined into one object, forming a boundless four-dimensional continuum known as "spacetime". In Einstein's general theory of relativity, it is postulated that space-time is geometrically distorted -curved- near to gravitationally significant masses.

The current scientific view of space is changing, and seems to be getting closer to the [[occultism|occult]] view:

<blockquote>Albert Einstein was the first person to realize that empty space is not nothing. Space has amazing properties, many of which are just beginning to be understood. The first property that Einstein discovered is that it is possible for more space to come into existence. Then one version of Einstein's gravity theory, the version that contains a cosmological constant, makes a second prediction: "empty space" can possess its own energy. Because this energy is a property of space itself, it would not be diluted as space expands. As more space comes into existence, more of this energy-of-space would appear.<ref>[http://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/what-is-dark-energy/ Dark Energy, Dark Matter] at NASA Science website</ref></blockquote>

Robert Betts Laughlin, Nobel Laureate in Physics, endowed chair in physics, Stanford University, had this to say about space in contemporary theoretical physics:

<blockquote>Space is more like a piece of window glass than ideal Newtonian emptiness. It is filled with 'stuff' that is normally transparent but can be made visible by hitting it sufficiently hard to knock out a part. The modern concept of the vacuum of space, confirmed every day by experiment, is a relativistic ether. But we do not call it this because it is taboo.”<ref>Robert B. Laughlin, A Different Universe: Reinventing Physics from the Bottom Down (New York: Basic Books, 2005) 120–121.</ref></blockquote>

==Online resources==
===Articles===
*[http://www.theosophy.ph/encyclo/index.php?title=Space# Space] at Theosopedia
*[http://davidpratt.info/relativ.htm# Space, Time, and Relativity] by David Pratt
*[http://www.theosophical.org/publications/1622# A Brief Overview of Sacred Time and Space] by Fred Alan Wolf

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Theosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Concepts in The Secret Doctrine]]
[[Category:Scientific concepts]]

Space

2014-09-16T14:44:03Z

Morry Secrest: /* Cosmic space */

'''Space''' is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In the Theosophical view there is not only the physical space we perceive, but there are other unperceived dimensions or "[[plane]]s" constituted by different kinds of [[matter]]. All these planes have place within the cosmic space, which is a temporal manifestation of the eternal pre-cosmic absolute abstract space.

== General description ==

In [[Theosophy|Theosophical]] literature "space", when treated as an abstract metaphysical principle, is used as symbol for the [[Absolute Reality]] and actually seen as one aspect of it:

<blockquote>The One All is like Space—which is its only mental and physical representation on this Earth, or our plane of existence—neither an object of, nor a subject to, perception. Space is neither a “limitless void”, nor a “conditioned fulness”, but both: being, on the plane of absolute abstraction, the ever-incognisable Deity, which is void only to finite minds, and on that of mayavic perception, the Plenum, the absolute Container of all that is, whether manifested or unmanifested: it is, therefore, that ABSOLUTE ALL.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, Ill: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 8</ref></blockquote>

A similar concept is found in [[Mahatma Letter No. 119#Page 4|one of the letters]] from [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] who wrote:

<blockquote>The [[Tibetan Buddhist canon#Tantras|book of Khiu-te]] teaches us that space is infinity itself. It is formless, immutable and absolute.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 119 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 407.</ref></blockquote>

== Absolute abstract space ==

In the [[Three Fundamental Propositions#First Fundamental Proposition|first Fundamental Proposition]] found in the Proem of [[The Secret Doctrine (book)|''The Secret Doctrine'']], [[H. P. Blavatsky]] says that the ultimate Reality is symbolised under two aspects, one of which is "absolute abstract Space, representing bare subjectivity, the one thing which no human mind can either exclude from any conception, or conceive of by itself":<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, Ill: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 14</ref>

<blockquote>Now, for us, space is a word which has no meaning unless we limit and condition it; but in reality, space is the most abstract thing, and space containing all is just that unknown deity which is invisible and which we cannot understand, which we can but intellectually sense.<ref>Michael Gomes (transcriber), ''The Secret Doctrine Commentaries'' (The Hague: I.S.I.S. foundation, 2010), 66.</ref></blockquote>

Space, in its absolute, sense is different from the relative physical space we know of:

<blockquote>. . . Space, which is an abstraction too, and is equally without beginning or end. It is in its concretency and limitation only that it becomes a representation and something. Of course the distance between two points is called space; it may be enormous or it may be infinitesimal, yet it will always be space. But all such specifications are divisions in human conception. In reality Space is what the ancients called the One invisible and unknown (now unknowable) Deity.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 310.</ref></blockquote>

Thus, space is seen as the one eternal and immutable principle:

<blockquote>“What is that which was, is, and will be, whether there is a Universe or not; whether there be gods or none?” asks the esoteric Senzar Catechism. And the answer made is—SPACE.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, Ill: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 9</ref></blockquote>

== Pre-cosmic space ==

In the [[Stanzas of Dzyan#Stanza I|first cosmological Stanza]] Mme. Blavatsky talks about the "Eternal Parent". This refers to the space in its unmanifested condition, before the manifestation of the cosmos:

<blockquote>Q. What aspect of Space, or the unknown deity, called in the Vedas “THAT,” which is mentioned further on, is here called the “Eternal Parent”?
 
A. It is the Vedantic [[Mulaprakriti]], and the [[Svabhavat]] of the Buddhists, or that androgynous something of which we have been speaking, which is both differentiated and undifferentiated. In its first principle it is a pure abstraction, which becomes differentiated only when it is transformed, in the process of time, into Prakriti. If compared with the human principles it corresponds to Buddhi, while Atma would correspond to Parabrahm, Manas to Mahat, and so on.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 303-304.</ref></blockquote>

The sloka describes that before the re-awakening of the universe the "eternal parent" is "wrapped in her ever invisible robes." These refer to "the substance . . . on the seventh plane of matter counting upwards, or rather from without within."<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 35.</ref> At this stage, space has the germ for all the septenaries that will be manifested. This is frequently called the seven-skinned "[[Father-Mother|Mother-Father]]":

<blockquote>Space is called in the esoteric symbolism “the Seven-Skinned Eternal Mother-Father.” It is composed from its undifferentiated to its differentiated surface of seven layers.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 9.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Q. What, then, are the seven layers of Space, for in the “Proem” we read about the “Seven-skinned Mother-Father”? 
A. Plato and Hermes Trismegistus would have regarded this as the Divine Thought, and Aristotle would have viewed this “Mother-Father” as the “privation” of matter. It is that which will become the seven planes of being, commencing with the spiritual and passing through the psychic to the material plane. The seven planes of thought or the seven states of consciousness correspond to these planes. All these septenaries are symbolized by the seven Skins.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 304.</ref></blockquote>

== Cosmic space ==

<blockquote>Space is called the “[[Mother (symbol)|Mother]]” before its Cosmic activity, and Father-Mother at the first stage of re-awakening.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 18.</ref></blockquote>

In [[Mahatma Letter No. 119#Page 4|one of the letters]] from [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] he relates space with the [[Mahat|Universal Mind]]:

<blockquote>Like the [[Manas|human mind]], which is the exhaustless generator of ideas, the Universal Mind or Space has its ideation which is projected into objectivity at the appointed [[time]]; but space itself is not affected thereby.<ref>???</ref></blockquote>

=== No empty space ===

[[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]] quotes a "private commentary hitherto secret" as follows:

<blockquote>As its [the seventh plane's] substance is of a different kind from that known on earth, the inhabitants of the latter, seeing THROUGH IT, believe in their illusion and ignorance that it is empty space. There is not one finger’s breath (ANGULA) of void Space in the whole Boundless (Universe). . . . .<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 289.</ref></blockquote>

== Scientific view of space ==

In classical mechanics space is one of the few fundamental quantities in physics, which means it cannot be defined via other quantities because nothing more fundamental is known at the present.

In cosmology, it is postulated that space was created in the Big Bang, 13.7 billion years ago and has been expanding ever since very rapidly due to the Cosmic Inflation.

Before Einstein's work on relativistic physics, [[time]] and space were viewed as independent dimensions. His discoveries showed that our space and time can be mathematically combined into one object, forming a boundless four-dimensional continuum known as "spacetime". In Einstein's general theory of relativity, it is postulated that space-time is geometrically distorted -curved- near to gravitationally significant masses.

The current scientific view of space is changing, and seems to be getting closer to the [[occultism|occult]] view:

<blockquote>Albert Einstein was the first person to realize that empty space is not nothing. Space has amazing properties, many of which are just beginning to be understood. The first property that Einstein discovered is that it is possible for more space to come into existence. Then one version of Einstein's gravity theory, the version that contains a cosmological constant, makes a second prediction: "empty space" can possess its own energy. Because this energy is a property of space itself, it would not be diluted as space expands. As more space comes into existence, more of this energy-of-space would appear.<ref>[http://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/what-is-dark-energy/ Dark Energy, Dark Matter] at NASA Science website</ref></blockquote>

Robert Betts Laughlin, Nobel Laureate in Physics, endowed chair in physics, Stanford University, had this to say about space in contemporary theoretical physics:

<blockquote>Space is more like a piece of window glass than ideal Newtonian emptiness. It is filled with 'stuff' that is normally transparent but can be made visible by hitting it sufficiently hard to knock out a part. The modern concept of the vacuum of space, confirmed every day by experiment, is a relativistic ether. But we do not call it this because it is taboo.”<ref>Robert B. Laughlin, A Different Universe: Reinventing Physics from the Bottom Down (New York: Basic Books, 2005) 120–121.</ref></blockquote>

==Online resources==
===Articles===
*[http://www.theosophy.ph/encyclo/index.php?title=Space# Space] at Theosopedia
*[http://davidpratt.info/relativ.htm# Space, Time, and Relativity] by David Pratt
*[http://www.theosophical.org/publications/1622# A Brief Overview of Sacred Time and Space] by Fred Alan Wolf

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Theosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Concepts in The Secret Doctrine]]
[[Category:Scientific concepts]]

Space

2014-09-16T14:34:34Z

Morry Secrest: /* Pre-cosmic space */

'''Space''' is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In the Theosophical view there is not only the physical space we perceive, but there are other unperceived dimensions or "[[plane]]s" constituted by different kinds of [[matter]]. All these planes have place within the cosmic space, which is a temporal manifestation of the eternal pre-cosmic absolute abstract space.

== General description ==

In [[Theosophy|Theosophical]] literature "space", when treated as an abstract metaphysical principle, is used as symbol for the [[Absolute Reality]] and actually seen as one aspect of it:

<blockquote>The One All is like Space—which is its only mental and physical representation on this Earth, or our plane of existence—neither an object of, nor a subject to, perception. Space is neither a “limitless void”, nor a “conditioned fulness”, but both: being, on the plane of absolute abstraction, the ever-incognisable Deity, which is void only to finite minds, and on that of mayavic perception, the Plenum, the absolute Container of all that is, whether manifested or unmanifested: it is, therefore, that ABSOLUTE ALL.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, Ill: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 8</ref></blockquote>

A similar concept is found in [[Mahatma Letter No. 119#Page 4|one of the letters]] from [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] who wrote:

<blockquote>The [[Tibetan Buddhist canon#Tantras|book of Khiu-te]] teaches us that space is infinity itself. It is formless, immutable and absolute.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 119 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 407.</ref></blockquote>

== Absolute abstract space ==

In the [[Three Fundamental Propositions#First Fundamental Proposition|first Fundamental Proposition]] found in the Proem of [[The Secret Doctrine (book)|''The Secret Doctrine'']], [[H. P. Blavatsky]] says that the ultimate Reality is symbolised under two aspects, one of which is "absolute abstract Space, representing bare subjectivity, the one thing which no human mind can either exclude from any conception, or conceive of by itself":<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, Ill: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 14</ref>

<blockquote>Now, for us, space is a word which has no meaning unless we limit and condition it; but in reality, space is the most abstract thing, and space containing all is just that unknown deity which is invisible and which we cannot understand, which we can but intellectually sense.<ref>Michael Gomes (transcriber), ''The Secret Doctrine Commentaries'' (The Hague: I.S.I.S. foundation, 2010), 66.</ref></blockquote>

Space, in its absolute, sense is different from the relative physical space we know of:

<blockquote>. . . Space, which is an abstraction too, and is equally without beginning or end. It is in its concretency and limitation only that it becomes a representation and something. Of course the distance between two points is called space; it may be enormous or it may be infinitesimal, yet it will always be space. But all such specifications are divisions in human conception. In reality Space is what the ancients called the One invisible and unknown (now unknowable) Deity.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 310.</ref></blockquote>

Thus, space is seen as the one eternal and immutable principle:

<blockquote>“What is that which was, is, and will be, whether there is a Universe or not; whether there be gods or none?” asks the esoteric Senzar Catechism. And the answer made is—SPACE.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, Ill: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 9</ref></blockquote>

== Pre-cosmic space ==

In the [[Stanzas of Dzyan#Stanza I|first cosmological Stanza]] Mme. Blavatsky talks about the "Eternal Parent". This refers to the space in its unmanifested condition, before the manifestation of the cosmos:

<blockquote>Q. What aspect of Space, or the unknown deity, called in the Vedas “THAT,” which is mentioned further on, is here called the “Eternal Parent”?
 
A. It is the Vedantic [[Mulaprakriti]], and the [[Svabhavat]] of the Buddhists, or that androgynous something of which we have been speaking, which is both differentiated and undifferentiated. In its first principle it is a pure abstraction, which becomes differentiated only when it is transformed, in the process of time, into Prakriti. If compared with the human principles it corresponds to Buddhi, while Atma would correspond to Parabrahm, Manas to Mahat, and so on.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 303-304.</ref></blockquote>

The sloka describes that before the re-awakening of the universe the "eternal parent" is "wrapped in her ever invisible robes." These refer to "the substance . . . on the seventh plane of matter counting upwards, or rather from without within."<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 35.</ref> At this stage, space has the germ for all the septenaries that will be manifested. This is frequently called the seven-skinned "[[Father-Mother|Mother-Father]]":

<blockquote>Space is called in the esoteric symbolism “the Seven-Skinned Eternal Mother-Father.” It is composed from its undifferentiated to its differentiated surface of seven layers.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 9.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Q. What, then, are the seven layers of Space, for in the “Proem” we read about the “Seven-skinned Mother-Father”? 
A. Plato and Hermes Trismegistus would have regarded this as the Divine Thought, and Aristotle would have viewed this “Mother-Father” as the “privation” of matter. It is that which will become the seven planes of being, commencing with the spiritual and passing through the psychic to the material plane. The seven planes of thought or the seven states of consciousness correspond to these planes. All these septenaries are symbolized by the seven Skins.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 304.</ref></blockquote>

== Cosmic space ==

<blockquote>Space is called the “[[Mother (symbol)|Mother]]” before its Cosmic activity, and Father-Mother at the first stage of re-awakening.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 18.</ref></blockquote>

In [[Mahatma Letter No. 119#Page 4|one of the letters]] from [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] he relates space with the [[Mahat|Universal Mind]]:

<blockquote>Like the [[Manas|human mind]], which is the exhaustless generator of ideas, the Universal Mind or Space has its ideation which is projected into objectivity at the appointed [[time]]; but space itself is not affected thereby.</ref></blockquote>

=== No empty space ===

[[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]] quotes a "private commentary hitherto secret" as follows:

<blockquote>As its [the seventh plane's] substance is of a different kind from that known on earth, the inhabitants of the latter, seeing THROUGH IT, believe in their illusion and ignorance that it is empty space. There is not one finger’s breath (ANGULA) of void Space in the whole Boundless (Universe). . . . .<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 289.</ref></blockquote>

== Scientific view of space ==

In classical mechanics space is one of the few fundamental quantities in physics, which means it cannot be defined via other quantities because nothing more fundamental is known at the present.

In cosmology, it is postulated that space was created in the Big Bang, 13.7 billion years ago and has been expanding ever since very rapidly due to the Cosmic Inflation.

Before Einstein's work on relativistic physics, [[time]] and space were viewed as independent dimensions. His discoveries showed that our space and time can be mathematically combined into one object, forming a boundless four-dimensional continuum known as "spacetime". In Einstein's general theory of relativity, it is postulated that space-time is geometrically distorted -curved- near to gravitationally significant masses.

The current scientific view of space is changing, and seems to be getting closer to the [[occultism|occult]] view:

<blockquote>Albert Einstein was the first person to realize that empty space is not nothing. Space has amazing properties, many of which are just beginning to be understood. The first property that Einstein discovered is that it is possible for more space to come into existence. Then one version of Einstein's gravity theory, the version that contains a cosmological constant, makes a second prediction: "empty space" can possess its own energy. Because this energy is a property of space itself, it would not be diluted as space expands. As more space comes into existence, more of this energy-of-space would appear.<ref>[http://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/what-is-dark-energy/ Dark Energy, Dark Matter] at NASA Science website</ref></blockquote>

Robert Betts Laughlin, Nobel Laureate in Physics, endowed chair in physics, Stanford University, had this to say about space in contemporary theoretical physics:

<blockquote>Space is more like a piece of window glass than ideal Newtonian emptiness. It is filled with 'stuff' that is normally transparent but can be made visible by hitting it sufficiently hard to knock out a part. The modern concept of the vacuum of space, confirmed every day by experiment, is a relativistic ether. But we do not call it this because it is taboo.”<ref>Robert B. Laughlin, A Different Universe: Reinventing Physics from the Bottom Down (New York: Basic Books, 2005) 120–121.</ref></blockquote>

==Online resources==
===Articles===
*[http://www.theosophy.ph/encyclo/index.php?title=Space# Space] at Theosopedia
*[http://davidpratt.info/relativ.htm# Space, Time, and Relativity] by David Pratt
*[http://www.theosophical.org/publications/1622# A Brief Overview of Sacred Time and Space] by Fred Alan Wolf

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Theosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Concepts in The Secret Doctrine]]
[[Category:Scientific concepts]]

Space

2014-09-16T14:20:41Z

Morry Secrest: /* Absolute abstract space */

'''Space''' is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In the Theosophical view there is not only the physical space we perceive, but there are other unperceived dimensions or "[[plane]]s" constituted by different kinds of [[matter]]. All these planes have place within the cosmic space, which is a temporal manifestation of the eternal pre-cosmic absolute abstract space.

== General description ==

In [[Theosophy|Theosophical]] literature "space", when treated as an abstract metaphysical principle, is used as symbol for the [[Absolute Reality]] and actually seen as one aspect of it:

<blockquote>The One All is like Space—which is its only mental and physical representation on this Earth, or our plane of existence—neither an object of, nor a subject to, perception. Space is neither a “limitless void”, nor a “conditioned fulness”, but both: being, on the plane of absolute abstraction, the ever-incognisable Deity, which is void only to finite minds, and on that of mayavic perception, the Plenum, the absolute Container of all that is, whether manifested or unmanifested: it is, therefore, that ABSOLUTE ALL.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, Ill: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 8</ref></blockquote>

A similar concept is found in [[Mahatma Letter No. 119#Page 4|one of the letters]] from [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] who wrote:

<blockquote>The [[Tibetan Buddhist canon#Tantras|book of Khiu-te]] teaches us that space is infinity itself. It is formless, immutable and absolute.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 119 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 407.</ref></blockquote>

== Absolute abstract space ==

In the [[Three Fundamental Propositions#First Fundamental Proposition|first Fundamental Proposition]] found in the Proem of [[The Secret Doctrine (book)|''The Secret Doctrine'']], [[H. P. Blavatsky]] says that the ultimate Reality is symbolised under two aspects, one of which is "absolute abstract Space, representing bare subjectivity, the one thing which no human mind can either exclude from any conception, or conceive of by itself":<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, Ill: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 14</ref>

<blockquote>Now, for us, space is a word which has no meaning unless we limit and condition it; but in reality, space is the most abstract thing, and space containing all is just that unknown deity which is invisible and which we cannot understand, which we can but intellectually sense.<ref>Michael Gomes (transcriber), ''The Secret Doctrine Commentaries'' (The Hague: I.S.I.S. foundation, 2010), 66.</ref></blockquote>

Space, in its absolute, sense is different from the relative physical space we know of:

<blockquote>. . . Space, which is an abstraction too, and is equally without beginning or end. It is in its concretency and limitation only that it becomes a representation and something. Of course the distance between two points is called space; it may be enormous or it may be infinitesimal, yet it will always be space. But all such specifications are divisions in human conception. In reality Space is what the ancients called the One invisible and unknown (now unknowable) Deity.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 310.</ref></blockquote>

Thus, space is seen as the one eternal and immutable principle:

<blockquote>“What is that which was, is, and will be, whether there is a Universe or not; whether there be gods or none?” asks the esoteric Senzar Catechism. And the answer made is—SPACE.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, Ill: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 9</ref></blockquote>

== Pre-cosmic space ==

In the [[Stanzas of Dzyan#Stanza I|first cosmological Stanza]] Mme. Blavatsky talks about the "Eternal Parent". This refers to the space in its unmanifested condition, before the manifestation of the cosmos:

<blockquote>Q. What aspect of Space, or the unknown deity, called in the Vedas “THAT,” which is mentioned further on, is here called the “Eternal Parent”?
 
A. It is the Vedantic [[Mulaprakriti]], and the [[Svabhavat]] of the Buddhists, or that androgynous something of which we have been speaking, which is both differentiated and undifferentiated. In its first principle it is a pure abstraction, which becomes differentiated only when it is transformed, in the process of time, into Prakriti. If compared with the human principles it corresponds to Buddhi, while Atma would correspond to Parabrahm, Manas to Mahat, and so on.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 303-304.</ref></blockquote>

The sloka describes that before the re-awakening of the universe the "eternal parent" is "wrapped in her ever invisible robes." These refer to the "the substance . . . on the seventh plane of matter counting upwards, or rather from without within."<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 35.</ref> At this stage, space has the germ for all the septenaries that will be manifested. This is frequently called the seven-skinned "[[Father-Mother|Mother-Father]]":

<blockquote>Space is called in the esoteric symbolism “the Seven-Skinned Eternal Mother-Father.” It is composed from its undifferentiated to its differentiated surface of seven layers.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 9.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Q. What, then, are the seven layers of Space, for in the “Proem” we read about the “Seven-skinned Mother-Father”? 
A. Plato and Hermes Trismegistus would have regarded this as the Divine Thought, and Aristotle would have viewed this “Mother-Father” as the “privation” of matter. It is that which will become the seven planes of being, commencing with the spiritual and passing through the psychic to the material plane. The seven planes of thought or the seven states of consciousness correspond to these planes. All these septenaries are symbolized by the seven Skins.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 304.</ref></blockquote>

== Cosmic space ==

<blockquote>Space is called the “[[Mother (symbol)|Mother]]” before its Cosmic activity, and Father-Mother at the first stage of re-awakening.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 18.</ref></blockquote>

In [[Mahatma Letter No. 119#Page 4|one of the letters]] from [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] he relates space with the [[Mahat|Universal Mind]]:

<blockquote>Like the [[Manas|human mind]], which is the exhaustless generator of ideas, the Universal Mind or Space has its ideation which is projected into objectivity at the appointed [[time]]; but space itself is not affected thereby.</ref></blockquote>

=== No empty space ===

[[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]] quotes a "private commentary hitherto secret" as follows:

<blockquote>As its [the seventh plane's] substance is of a different kind from that known on earth, the inhabitants of the latter, seeing THROUGH IT, believe in their illusion and ignorance that it is empty space. There is not one finger’s breath (ANGULA) of void Space in the whole Boundless (Universe). . . . .<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 289.</ref></blockquote>

== Scientific view of space ==

In classical mechanics space is one of the few fundamental quantities in physics, which means it cannot be defined via other quantities because nothing more fundamental is known at the present.

In cosmology, it is postulated that space was created in the Big Bang, 13.7 billion years ago and has been expanding ever since very rapidly due to the Cosmic Inflation.

Before Einstein's work on relativistic physics, [[time]] and space were viewed as independent dimensions. His discoveries showed that our space and time can be mathematically combined into one object, forming a boundless four-dimensional continuum known as "spacetime". In Einstein's general theory of relativity, it is postulated that space-time is geometrically distorted -curved- near to gravitationally significant masses.

The current scientific view of space is changing, and seems to be getting closer to the [[occultism|occult]] view:

<blockquote>Albert Einstein was the first person to realize that empty space is not nothing. Space has amazing properties, many of which are just beginning to be understood. The first property that Einstein discovered is that it is possible for more space to come into existence. Then one version of Einstein's gravity theory, the version that contains a cosmological constant, makes a second prediction: "empty space" can possess its own energy. Because this energy is a property of space itself, it would not be diluted as space expands. As more space comes into existence, more of this energy-of-space would appear.<ref>[http://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/what-is-dark-energy/ Dark Energy, Dark Matter] at NASA Science website</ref></blockquote>

Robert Betts Laughlin, Nobel Laureate in Physics, endowed chair in physics, Stanford University, had this to say about space in contemporary theoretical physics:

<blockquote>Space is more like a piece of window glass than ideal Newtonian emptiness. It is filled with 'stuff' that is normally transparent but can be made visible by hitting it sufficiently hard to knock out a part. The modern concept of the vacuum of space, confirmed every day by experiment, is a relativistic ether. But we do not call it this because it is taboo.”<ref>Robert B. Laughlin, A Different Universe: Reinventing Physics from the Bottom Down (New York: Basic Books, 2005) 120–121.</ref></blockquote>

==Online resources==
===Articles===
*[http://www.theosophy.ph/encyclo/index.php?title=Space# Space] at Theosopedia
*[http://davidpratt.info/relativ.htm# Space, Time, and Relativity] by David Pratt
*[http://www.theosophical.org/publications/1622# A Brief Overview of Sacred Time and Space] by Fred Alan Wolf

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Theosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Concepts in The Secret Doctrine]]
[[Category:Scientific concepts]]