SECTION THREE

Chapter XIV

LOKAS AND TALAS

The picture has been developed up to this point: on the one hand we have the Universe composed of many planes of consciousness and, on the other hand, the materials, so to speak, of which it is built called the Tattvas and Bhûtas.  The fact that these comprise the universe on all its planes indicates that there may be several grades of each one of the Tattvas.  Up to this point we have not been specific as to the nature of the planes of consciousness, and this will be the theme of this present chapter.

And then as to Man: We have learned something about his seven principles and have found that they are to the man what the Tattvas are to the Universe.  It was indicated that there are many monads in Man's constitution; and these will correspond in Man to what the planes of consciousness are in the Universe.

Taking the cosmic picture first, we have been accustomed to indicate the planes of consciousness by a series of parallel lines one above another, and they are often shown thus:

If we have profited by what has gone before, we may at once surmise that each of these planes of consciousness is dual in nature; and we shall be correct.  Let us then proceed directly to a study of them, each one a bipolarity with its energic of consciousness side as well as its matter side.  In this manner the subject is best studied under the heading of the Lokas and Talas, the former being the energy or spirit aspects, and the latter the material aspects of the planes.  But there is something more.  The unnumbered hosts of entities pursuing their evolutionary journeys through these planes of life follow a natural sequence: they start any one of their great cycles of development at the highest point and move downward, so to speak, through the planes of consciousness to the lowest of them, and then return upwards.  These two phases of the journey are known respectively as the “Downward Arc” and the “Upward Arc.”  In passing through the planes on the Downward Arc, they do so through the Tala aspects, and on the return journey along the Upward Arc they do so through the Loka aspects.  Therefore, while it has been customary to name the light or consciousness side of any hierarchy first, as we did when enumerating the Tattvas and the Bhûtas, in this instance, because the descent is made through the Talas before the re-ascent through the Lokas, we shall enumerate them in that order, taking the Talas first and starting with the highest:

As the entities make their descent through these Talas, they use the materials furnished by the Tattvas to build spheres of activity, or “globes,” in each of these planes of consciousness.  These are known as the Globes of the Downward or Descending Arc. In like manner they will build more globes on the same planes of consciousness as they re-ascend through the Lokas; and these are known as the Globes of the Upward or Ascending Arc.  Thus is the complete Globe-Chain built by these hosts of entities as they journey through the Talas and Lokas, using the materials of the Bhûtas and Tattvas.

Here then are the Lokas:

Having said that there is a globe formed on each of the planes of consciousness as the entities pass downward through the Talas and then upwards through the Lokas, it might be thought that therefore there are 14 globes to the planetary chain.  However, the highest and the lowest of the cosmic planes have but one globe each because they are the turning points and represent the transition for the monads as they change over from the downward into the upward arc in the one case, and from the upward to the new downward arc in the other.  In fact, this journey is made seven times; and on this teaching rest all the intricacies of the Rounds and Races.

Let us first present in paradigmatic form the Talas and Lokas, indicating the 12 globes of a planetary chain by circles:

It has been customary to letter the globes from Rasâtala downward to Pâtâla-Bhûr-loka and then upwards again to Mahar-loka with the letters form A to G, since a study of the Globe chain in much of our Theosophical literature is confined to the Seven Globes.  For purposes of deeper study, however, all twelve Globes are included; and the diagram in its more complete form would be represented thus:

The entities that make these descents and ascents through the planes of consciousness, or more accurately through the Talas and Lokas, are the same entities that form the various kingdoms of nature, and we, of course, are among them.  In considering the teachings about the Rounds and Races, we are studying these from the standpoint of the Human Race primarily, even though the other kingdoms are taken into account to be sure.  However difficult it is to grasp the intricacies of the time-periods as they relate to the Human Race, how much more involved would be the study were we to try to understand the time periods for the other families of monads too!

In its simplest outline, the teaching is as follows:  The process of building a Globe Chain is carried on under the aegis of beings of lofty type who themselves were once — in the unthinkably great stretches of past time — members of a kingdom corresponding to the human,  They had evolved to the point where they were able (and in fact it was their karmic task to do so) to be present at the beginning of the formation of the Globe Chain.  Their task was to guide the young monads as they were starting out to build the first outlines of the Globes, starting with Globe A, and onwards along the Downward Arc to Globe D, then upwards again to Globe G.  The five higher Globes are not included in this explanation because they come under a different category and the teachings about them are quite abstruse.

Be that as it may, it is under the aegis of higher beings, the Dhyâni-Chohans, that the various classes of Monads — which by their own nature group themselves into the Kingdoms as enumerated in the last chapter — pursue their age-long journey through the Globes of a Planetary Chain.

There is one very important principle that has to be mastered: it postulates the relationship between the Tattvas and Bhûtas, on the one hand, and the Lokas and Talas on the other.  We must reiterate that the Tattvas are the stuffs or materials out of which not only the Globes of the Chain are to be built, but that the entities forming the kingdoms of nature must also draw from these materials on their own behalf.  They clothe themselves in what we shall call the Seven Principles, which they fashion for themselves out of these ‘raw materials‘, if we may use the expression, the whole process beginning with the formation of Globe A.

Since the entities will find all of the Tattva-Bhûtas available to them wherever they may be, whatever plane of consciousness they may occupy at the moment, they will make a selection that is appropriate to their condition at the time of such selection.  Thus, although all of the Tattvas are available when they start out on Globe A, nevertheless these entities are capable as yet of using hardly anything more than the highest of these, because of their own very ethereal nature as young monads just starting out.  The other Tattvas will contribute comparatively little as yet.  Then when they move on to Globe B, they are in an evolutionary state which allows them to draw more fully upon the next Tattva-Bhûta; and when they reach Globe C, they can and do draw mainly upon the third Tattva-Bhûta, counting from the top, although to a degree all of the Tattva-Bhûtas do contribute something to the vehicles that are slowly being built.

On reaching Globe D (although we think of this Globe as being the lowest) the entities are taking mainly from the fourth Tattva-Bhûta.  One reason our bodies appear to be so gross is that, mixed with the physical life of the body is the quality of Kâma, corresponding to the fourth Tattva.

Much later on in the course of evolution, when the Monads finally reach Globe G, the Sthûla-sarîra, though no longer gross as it is at the present time, will nevertheless be a more complete entity and will represent the Âtmic quality of the physical body; we can imagine it as having the appearance of an aura of light.

There is a paradox here; but in these studies we must learn to alter to a degree our appreciation of the terms “higher” and “lower,” “ethereal” and “gross” or “spiritual” and “material.”  The distinctions are not always to be equated with “good and evil.”  It depends upon the aspect of the study that is being taken up at the time. 

What has really been accomplished in this study is that we have come to a partial understanding of the “Cosmic Cross,” wherein the upright is the series of the Lokas and Talas, and the horizontal is the series of the Tattva- Bhûtas.  This might be set forth in diagrammatic form thus:

		Talas		:		Lokas
		Atala		:		Satya-loka
		Vitala		:		Tapar-loka
(Tattva-Bhûtas):		Sutala		:		Janar-loka
Âdi ...	...Anupapâdaka ...	... Âkâsa ...		:	... Tejas ......		... Apas...	...Prithivî
		Rasâtala		:		Mahar-loka
		Talâtala		:		Svar-loka
		Mahâtala		:		Bhuvar-loka
		Pâtâla		:		Bhur-loka

It is natural for the student to inquire at this point: “What about the Globes on the higher Lokas and Talas?  The best that we can say is that the experiences of the Monads in these higher Globes are indeed included in the process of the Rounds and Races but they are different from the events that take place in the seven manifested Globes.  They can be mastered only in Initiation and in the secret processes of Death.

It might here be pointed out that sleep is an imperfect death, a rehearsal for death, if we may so phrase it.  Similarly, death is an imperfect experience of the mighty processes of the Rounds and Races.  Initiation is the grand and mysterious process whereby the one fortunately able to master the trial is ‘reborn’ with a full knowledge of the processes of consciousness in the higher globes, not only in a more or less incomplete form as in death, but as experienced more fully by the classes of monads themselves in their pursuance of the Rounds.

This is by no means a full exposition of the teachings.  It cannot be, because even if it were possible to understand them fully (and this cannot be accomplished short of initiation) one must follow the example of the teachers who are most reticent about these matters — and who are we to attempt to divulge their secrets?  Therefore what we have written does not purport to be more than an outline; and we may state the teaching as far as we have developed it to this point, in these brief terms:

The seven Lokas and Talas combine to form the seven great planes of consciousness.  As the Monads which form the various kingdoms of nature pass through these planes of consciousness on their evolutionary journey for the first time, they delineate 12 globes as the centers of their activities; and this constitutes the first Round.  Then in subsequent cycles or rounds, they inhabit these globes which they have delineated.  There are seven such Rounds and in each, the descent into the lower planes is known as the “Downward Arc,” while the re-ascent through the planes is known as the “Upward Arc.”  Certain of the Globes are thus identified with the descending arc, and others with the ascending arc.  During this process, the Monads draw upon the cosmic materials, which are at hand at every stage of the journey.  These materials of several kinds have been referred to as the Tattvas and the Bhûtas.  The materials will be selected according to the needs of the Monads as they go along their journey.  By the end of the journey, all the Tattva-Bhûtas will have contributed toward the building of the vehicles for these monads, and it follows that they will be used in the building of the Globes themselves.

And now we would like to quote from Dr. Judith Tyberg's valuable book, Sanskrit Keys to the Wisdom Religion, wherein she gives the meaning of the names of the Lokas and the Talas.  Her explanations include some significant hints as to the relationship of these to the human consciousness and indicate that they are to be studied not only as we have done in the sense that they are the Cosmical Planes of Being, but also that they represent states of consciousness within any one of us as well.  Her explanations cover some teachings not yet taken up in this book, and they will mean more to us as we continue out study during the next few chapters. 

“The unconscious descent through the talas, into matter, is the first and necessary process of evolution, a process which prepares the way for the second and more important half of the evolutionary journey, that of the conscious ascent through the lokas, the self-directed unfoldment of the lofty inner qualities and powers.  The Human Race is now in this second stage of development, because it long ago reached Globe D, the nadir of the descent.  Therefore the different bodies, physical, astral, mental and spiritual, with which we have clothed ourselves in our descent, should now be kept pure in order that they may be used as sacred instruments on that self-directed spiritual journey upwards.  The first descent through the talas is not evil, is not against nature's laws; but a second and conscious descent through the talas, brought about by the choosing of that which is low and the self-willing identification with matter and its limiting and selfish attributes, is evil, for it is against nature's laws.  This latter is the Downward Path to annihilation, the path of a Lost Soul, or of a Brother of the Shadow.

So we may say that the tala-side of Nature has its two poles, its two contrasting aspects, the good — that which enables beings to build forms on their descent into existence; and the evil — that of self-identification with the base and selfish side of nature.  Likewise the lokas have this dual aspect, which is demonstrated in the Path of the Buddhas of Compassion and the Path of the Pratyeka-Buddhas.

Though these lokas and talas may be depicted as states of consciousness or conditions of beings they are also actual localities in which different classes of beings, high, intermediate and low, live.  The particular meaning of each set of loka and tala, beginning with the highest, is as follows:

Satya-loka is the ‘world of truth and reality,_’ the realm in which live divine beings and Nirvânins.  It is the highest state of consciousness possible to a human being, the loftiest Samâdhi.  Its atmosphere extends into regions far beyond our ken, out into the fields of infinitude.  Its nether pole, Atala, is the first suggestion of a place, the first something of existence.  It is called a-tala, ‘not-a-place,’ because it is of such spiritual-ethereal matter that it can scarcely be considered a place.  A Lost Soul or one who follows the Downward Path suffers final annihilation in Atala.

Tapar-loka is the ‘world of spiritual meditation and devotion,’ the realm in which live the Spiritual Guardians of our Universe, the state in which the Christos or the Buddhic Splendor manifests itself in its fullness.  Its atmosphere, though not as far-reaching as Satya-loka, extends beyond our ken.  Its nether pole, Vitala, is that spiritual-ethereal place in which there is a change (vi) towards matter, therefore it is a ‘place for matter.’  It is in Vitala that the one self-consciously following the Downward Path breaks the final link with his Higher Nature.

Janar-loka is the ‘world of spiritual birth,’ the realm in which dwell the Kumaras, Agnishvâttas and Mânasaputras, the state in which the Higher Manas of man becomes the complete master of the lower principles.  Its atmosphere extends to the reaches of our Galaxy.  Its nether pole, Sutala, is a ‘great world’ whose field of influence extends to the limits of our Solar System.  It is the realm in which live the different classes of Devas who are intimately connected with the mind and the senses.  In this loka a man's brain-mind is no longer deluded by Mâyâ but is concerned with compassionate service to all.  The nether pole, Rasâtala, is the ‘place of taste,’ that place in which one can perceive with one of the organs of sense.  A human being whose brain-mind is wholly concerned with things of the senses and the objective world is immersed in Rasâtala.

Svar-loka is the ‘heaven world’ wherein the human being enjoys the after-death state of Devachan.  It is the state in which a human being unfolds his higher aspirations.  It is the abode of the higher Elementals, and its atmosphere extends to the pole star.  Its nether pole is Talâtala. This word is a compound of tala-atala, meaning ‘a place not a place’ and implying that this place is more of a tala than those above it but is not yet a fully substantial tala.  A man who centers his mind and energies in the gratification of his senses is in Talâtala.

Bhuvar-loka is the ‘word of becoming,’ the region of the Astral Light which extends to the Sun, and the abode of the lower Nature-spirits.  A man who has attained to this loka has become aware of his inner and higher nature and hence has become more impersonal, and therefore more unselfish, more spiritual.  The nether pole of Bhuvar-loka is Mahâtala, the ‘great place,’ the abode of man's astral shadow.  When a man performs deeds which are selfish and unkind and impure he is in Mahâtala.

Bhûr-loka is the ‘earth sphere’ in which our planet Terra or Globe D exists.  It is the abode of human beings who are thoughtful and good, but not necessarily spiritually awakened.  Bhûr-loka's nether pole is Pâtâla or the ‘nethermost tala’ or the region beneath us, the Underworld.  The derivation of Pâtâla is obscure, but it may be a contracted form of pâta — sunken or fallen, and tala.  Pâtâla is the dwelling place of man's physical body and personal self, of animals, and of Nature-spirits such as the gnomes.  Instinctual selfishness, self-preservation, gratification of the senses, and the helpless innocence of childhood are characteristic marks of one who is in Pâtâla.  Pâtâla is often used for our word ‘Hell.’

Such are the ranges of the Human Spirit: from the darkest regions of Pâtâla to the loftiest and divinest regions of truth — Satya-loka!”

Before we leave this chapter it will be useful to show by means of the following table how all the Tattva-Bhûtas are available to the Monads in their passage from Globe A to Globe G.  This does not relate them, as we have shown them previously, to the planes of consciousness as such; but it does indicate how the Monads, while having available to all the Tattva-Bhûtas, choose predominantly the one best suited to their needs on each Globe.  In this table the dominant one in each case is shown in small capitals.