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The Seven Principles Of Man

By A Besant

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Introductory

Seven is one of the most important numbers in the teachings of theosophy, the wisdom-religion. It is a key by which are revealed and explained many of the mysteries of nature, for in theosophy it is taught that number and numbers underlie all the processes of creation. This numerical key of seven lies at the root of all evolution, whether physical or spiritual. It is therefore important both in its meanings and application.

There is nothing arbitrary about the use of seven as applied to the study of our composite constitution, as this number is found to be universal throughout the universe. We discover it everywhere. Some common facts are good instances of this, such as the seven layers of the human skin, the musical scale with its seven notes, and the seven colors which make up a ray of sunlight. Then there is the moon, which theosophy and science both show to have close relation to the generation of physical life on our planet. The moon is governed in its activities by the number seven. Note the recurrence of seven in the gestation period, the phases of the moon, with the week of seven days, etc. The inquirer has only to look observantly into the matter to find many other examples of the septenary in the world about him.

In Christianity we find the human nature divided by the apostle Paul into three elements: body, soul, and spirit. This division includes, however, the other four principles. Christian theology, while accepting this threefold division, tells us little about what soul really is, or what is the difference between soul and spirit. Nor can present-day psychology help us. The best known modern psychologists take into account only the lower ranges of soul activity. They study almost exclusively our physiological mentality, such emotions as fear, passional desires, and the like. However, this is not surprising. For over a century science has regarded the human being as merely a developed ape whose inner life consists of highly specialized reactions to his environment, though a change in this point of view is now seen to be on the way. A number of psychologists are discovering that to regard the human soul as a complex of merely semi-physiological reactions does not begin to cover the ground. They acknowledge that such a point of view is destructive to all moral and spiritual aspiration. It does not take into account the nature of our spiritual-mental activities. And they are beginning to admit that it is this higher side which is the more important.

Present-day psychology is the newest and most incomplete branch of modern science. How different it was in the great ancient civilizations! They were built around the Mystery-schools as a nucleus. And those great esoteric colleges taught a complete science of the soul, a subject which we moderns name psychology. These schools or colleges were the guardians of a sacred science which included everything about life, death, man, and the universe. It included the truths of religion, science, and philosophy in all their immense ranges.

Our present religions, philosophies, and sciences are but pale reflections of that ancient knowledge; or else they are new and incomplete growths arising from its remnants. This ancient system, which is referred to in theosophical works as the wisdomreligion, the secret doctrine, the esoteric philosophy or tradition, the archaic wisdom, etc., was known all over the ancient world. Clear evidence of this fact can be found by a study and comparison of the basic doctrines and symbologies of all the old world-religions, including even the Bible. The same is true of the ancient great philosophies. Pythagoras, with his esoteric school at Crotona; Plato in his Academy at Athens; and the Stoics, of whom Marcus Aurelius is a celebrated example, all show, in spite of differences in the form of their systems, that they were teachers of the wisdom-religion. Evidence can also be found in archaeological remains the world over and in many other fields of research, should the reader be interested in this fascinating subject. (See also The Esoteric Tradition by G. de Purucker; and The Mystery-Schools by Grace F. Knoche.)

One of the most important of the teachings of these Mysteryschools was the sevenfold nature of the manifested universe, and of its offspring, man.