Theosophist, may 2003, p.

300-309
HPB's Diagram of Meditation and the Process of
Spiritual Transformation
Roger Price
[ For easy reference the link to the Meditation Diagram is such that the present article will remain on the
screen when the diagram is opened. The same is true for the link to the letter of the Chohan]
One of the gems left to us by H.P.Blavatsky (HPB) is her Diagram of Meditation (Diagram), a copy of
which was recorded by E.T. Sturdy, one of the members of her Inner Group. If you are not familiar with
it there is a copy at the end of this article. This article will look at some of the esoteric principles on
which it is based and hence its value in the process of spiritual transformation. When considering what
the process of spiritual transformation is about perhaps a good overview can be gained from one of the
passages in the "Maha Chohan's Letter"; The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett, in chronological
sequence, Appendix II, p. 478., viz:
" All of us have to get rid of our own Ego, the illusory, apparent self, to recognise our true Self, in a
transcendental divine life. But if we would not be selsh we must strive to make other people see that
truth, and recognise the reality of the transcendental Self, the Buddha, the Christ, or God of every
preacher."
The above quotation points out that our real Self is not the personality which, from a spiritual
perspective, is only our apparent self and that our real Self is in a transcendental divine life. True
spiritual transformation takes place as we are able "to get rid of" perceptions and feelings that we are the
personal ego and "recognise our real or true Self (and that of every other being) in a transcendental
divine life". It is an unfolding process of discriminating between what is real and permanent and what is
illusory and transitory and requires a de-identication with what is illusory and a re-identication with
what is real. This process requires and is facilitated when perceptions and feelings change to reect the
Unity of All life. Hence, the quotation also stresses the importance of overcoming selshness (arising
out of a sense of separateness) through helping others perceive this universal truth which is to be found
in every religion. It implies that true spiritual transformation requires not only truly universal
perspectives and values arising out of a sense of the Unity of All life but also a commitment to live or
work for the benet of all. Practice of the Diagram turns consciousness towards what is real and
provides insights into what is illusory thus helping the process of spiritual transformation.
Any approach to spiritual transformation must be of practical use and be capable of facilitating change
not only in perspectives and values but ultimately in consciousness. This requires that it brings about
changes that are in line with universal truth, that is reality and frees consciousness from conditioning and
illusion. Bearing this in mind two concerns might arise about the Diagram. Firstly it might be thought
that the Diagram is too abstract or metaphysical and thus of no practical use. What has the process of
trying to "Conceive of Unity by expansion in Space and Innite in Time" got to do with living a spiritual
life or spiritual transformation? In answer it can be said that Theosophy expounds a philosophy of
spiritual evolution and to truly lead a spiritual life we must also follow the transformations outlined in
the blue print of the evolutionary path for Mankind.. In The Secret Doctrine, Vol II, Anthropogenesis
Stanza IV, Sloka 17, p.105, we nd that one of the evolutionary purposes for Mankind is to evolve "a
mind to embrace the universe". To be truly universal this "embracing" must include not only All Space
(and all that it contains) but must also be innite in Time, at least within the context of the evolutionary
cycle concerned. This inherent potential capacity of our mind to be able to embrace the universe, will of
course be reached through the process of evolution. However, it is said that our real Spiritual Ego,
Higher Manas, is already to a great extend universal and is not limited in space and time as we are at the
level of our personality. The Diagram can help us make greater contact with our Higher Manas because
it turns or opens our lower manus towards the Higher. Secondly, because the Diagram consists of a
series of steps it might be thought that it is just another method which could result not in a real
transformation but in a kind of subtle conditioning. This is a potential danger with all approaches to
come to an understanding of life and make or facilitate change within oneself. However, when an
approach is based on Truth or Reality through a genuine rendering of the Ancient Wisdom and hence
based on the nature of our true or real being then it would seem that it has the possibility for real
transformation, provided that we are able to go beyond intellectualisation of the process towards that to
which it points. The Diagram also asks that we "conceive" and "mould our normal consciousness by"
"Perpetual Presence in imagination in all Space and Time". At rst sight this may appear as mere
conceptualisation, however, Sri Krishna Prem and Sri Madhava Ashish explain in Man, The Measure Of
All Things p. 86:
"Fundamentally, the power of imaging is the same as knowingThe act of imaging is just as much an
act of knowing as is any perception of sense data, but it is one which takes place on a subtler level than
the physical. and the fact that ordinary men are able to make no effective use of this means of
knowing is because, as with any other faculty that is insufciently used and trained, their imaging
power remains in a childish and practically useless state."
This article will endeavour to show, further on, that the Diagram is based on perspectives from our real
or true Self not from the personality and points towards the nature of our higher consciousness. In the
Deprivations it also points out in a unique manner that our conditioned perceptions from a personal
perspective are not real from the perspective of our real Self. Importantly, it also points out how these
can be overcome.
The Esoteric Basis of HPB's Diagram of Meditation
The esoteric depth of the Diagram can be seen from its basis on fundamental esoteric principles. This
article will focus mainly on the key notes of the four fundamental steps in the process of the Diagram
and covers briey some of the esoteric principles on which they are based.
Diagram: "First conceive of UNITY by Expansion in Space and Innite in
Time."
The importance of Unity as the one fundamental law is found in The Secret Doctrine Vol I p. 120:
"The radical unity of the ultimate essence of each constituent part of compounds in Nature from Star to
mineral atom, from the highest Dhyan Chohan to the smallest infusoria, in the fullest acceptance of the
term, and whether applied to the spiritual, intellectual or physical worlds - this is the one fundamental
law in Occult Science."
This is re-enforced in The Secret Doctrine and it's Study recorded by Commander Robert Bowen in
1891. HPB says the most important esoteric principle to bear in mind is:
"The FUNDAMENTAL UNITY OF ALL EXISTENCE. This unity is a thing altogether different from
the common notion of unity - as when we say that a nation or an army is united.The teaching is not
that. It is that existence is ONE THING, not any collection of things linked together. Fundamentally
there is ONE BEING. ..It is ALL-BEING. ..it is clear that this fundamental ONE EXISTENCE, or
Absolute Being, must be the REALITY in every form there is.The Atom, the Man, the God are each
separately, as well as all collectively, Absolute Being in their last analysis, that is their REAL
INDIVIDUALITY."
If we are to open our consciousness towards the divine then our consciousness must open towards the
perceptions and feelings of the Unity of All which are inherent in its pure nature.
The importance of Space, the Eternal Parent and Time is emphasised by the fact that in the
Cosmogenesis of The Secret Doctrine, they are the rst two subjects covered in Slokas 1 and 2
respectively of Stanza 1, viz Secret Doctrine Vol I Stanza 1, sloka 1, p.35:
"The Eternal Parent (Space), wrapped in her ever invisible robes, had slumbered once again for seven
eternities (a)." "The "Parent Space" is the eternal, ever present cause of all - the incomprehensible
DEITY,"
The Proem of The Secret Doctrine, Vol I, p.11 quotes the Occult Catechism:
"What is it that ever is?" "Space, the eternal Anupadaka." "What is it that ever was?" "The Germ in the
Root." "What is it that is ever coming and going?" "The Great Breath." "Then, there are Three
Eternals?" " No, the three are one. That which ever is is one, that which ever was is one, that which is
ever being and becoming is also one: and this is Space."
From the above quotations it is clear that Space is of the profoundest signicance. However, it is not
only the objective Space we see when we look around us or up into the heavens that is meant, but
subjective Space which can be experienced or travelled within consciousness itself. Considering Time,
in The Secret Doctrine, Vol I, Stanza 1, sloka 2, p. 37 we nd:
"Time was not, for it lay asleep in the innite bosom of duration (a). (a) Time is only an illusion
produced by the succession of our states of consciousness as we travel through eternal duration, and it
does not exist where no consciousness exists in which the illusion can be produced;"
Again in The Secret Doctrine, Vol I, Stanza 1, sloka 6, p. 44:
"What is Time, for instance, but the panoramic succession of our states of consciousness? In the words
of a Master, "I feel irritated at having to use these three clumsy words-Past, Present, and Future-
miserable concepts of the objective phases of the subjective whole, they are about as ill-adapted for the
purpose as an axe for ne carving."
The practice of conceiving "UNITY by expansion in Space and Innite in Time" turns and expands our
consciousness towards the very heart of our real nature and can help us "recognise our true Self, in a
transcendental divine life" because it is based on what is already inherent in our real nature.
Diagram: "Then meditate logically and consistently on this in reference to the
states of consciousness."
This part of the meditation deals with the states or planes of consciousness which form or make up the
Universe. We nd reference to these states of consciousness in a number of yoga, spiritual and
Theosophical works. For example in the Glossary to Part I of The Voice of The Silence, notes 14 and 15,
p. 75:
"The states of consciousness, which are Jugrat, the waking; Swapna, the dreaming; and Sushupti, the
deep sleeping state. These three Yogi conditions, lead to the fourth, or - The Turya, that dreamless state,
the one above all, a state of high spiritual consciousness."
In The Inner Group Teachings of H.P. Blavatsky 2nd, revised and enlarged edition, p.13
"it was only in the Turya state, the highest of the seven steps of Raja-Yoga, that the Yogi can represent to
himself that which is abstract." And on p. 15. "The Turya state is entered on the "Fourth Path".
These states represent the stages or phases of movement between objective and subjective states of
consciousness. They are not exactly the waking, dreaming or deep sleep states as we know them from
the level of our personality but appear to represent keys to the inner mystic path of union with our
Higher Self.
The Acquisitions and Deprivations - "transformations through Manas by the
accumulations of experience".
A clearer understanding of the role of the Acquisitions and Deprivations can be gained from considering
one of the fundamental evolutionary processes: "transformations through Manas by the accumulations of
experience". In The Secret Doctrine, Vol I, p.181, we nd:
"This body serves as the vehicle for the "growth" (to use a misleading word) and the transformations
through Manas and-owing to the accumulation of experiences-of the nite into the INFINITE, of the
transient into the Eternal and Absolute".
Our Higher Manas, the real Spiritual Ego acquires (hence acquisitions) through the experience gained
from its incarnations and is transformed according to evolutionary law. What it is, that our real Spiritual
Ego acquires is pointed to in the above quotation. Within the evolutionary process there is a
transformation "of the nite into the INFINITE, of the transient into the Eternal and Absolute". This
takes place by the "accumulations of experience" which result in a growth of discernment between the
Real and the unreal and between the permanent or Eternal and the transitory. It would appear that
inclusive in this process is the evolution of "a mind to embrace the Universe". However, mankind has
self-consciousness and hence must choose. It would appear that one of the fundamental choices to be
made is whether we act for the benet of the All or out of selsh motives. When we act out of a motive
for the benet of the All (that is out of feelings or perceptions of Unity) then this process of
transformation takes place. The Diagram appears to be designed to help quicken the process by which
understanding and discernment and perhaps eventually direct perception between the Real and unreal
takes place. This occurs because the meditative process in the Diagram is based upon perceptions from
the standpoint of our real Spiritual Ego, that is from the Real. It aims to re-focus our sense of identity
from the personality to the real Spiritual Ego. In broad terms the Acquisitions turn the mind towards the
Real and unfold perceptions with resultant actions based on truth and the Deprivations to discernment
about what is unreal or illusory and hence weaken their hold. Looking into this further, in The Secret
Doctrine, Vol I, Stanza VII, sloka 6, p. 264:
"From the First-Born ( primitive, or the rst man) the Thread between the Silent Watcher and his
Shadow becomes more strong and radiant with every change (re-incarnation) (a)". . the "Watcher"
and his "Shadows"-the latter numbering as many as there are re-incarnations for the monad-are one.
The Watcher, or the divine prototype, is at the upper rung of the ladder of being; the shadow, at the
lower. Withal, the Monad of every living being, unless his moral turpitude breaks the connection and
runs loose and "astray into the lunar path"-to use the Occult expression-is an individual Dhyan Chohan,
distinct from others, a kind of spiritual individuality of its own, during one special Manvantara".
Normally the term "Thread" is used for the "Thread Soul", the Sutratman. In the quotation used it can
also be taken to mean the Antahkarana which HPB describes in H.P.Blavatsky Collected Writings Vol
XII p. 633/4 as the "path which lies between the divine and human Egos," and which can never be
ruptured so long there remains one spiritual deed to serve as a "thread of union". In The Inner Group
Teachings of H.P. Blavatsky, p.70, "After death the higher light (Antahkarana) which bears the memory
and impressions of all good and noble aspirations assimilates itself with the Higher Ego". It would
appear that these good and noble aspirations form the pearls which are strung along the Sutratman.
This "Thread" is the Antahkarana, the pure ray of Higher Manas, shot down into this world of objectivity
to connect with the personality. That portion of the ray which remains pure, that is un-inuenced by
kama forms the Antahkarana. It is the means by which the real Spiritual Ego garners the experiences of
its incarnations but also the means by which it seeks to inuence the lower self, the personality. It is
through the Antahkarana that we have the ability to discern between right and wrong; The Inner Group
Teachings of H.P. Blavatsky, p.70, "The whole fate of an incarnation depends upon whether Antahkarana
will be able to restrain the Kama-Manas or not." The importance of this guiding and restraining role is
also emphasised in The Voice of the Silence, in the Two Paths, p. 38:
"Restrain by thy Divine thy lower Self".
"Restrain by the Eternal the Divine."
"Aye, great is he, who is the slayer of desire."
It is very difcult and perhaps not advisable to make too clear lines of demarcation between the different
levels of our higher nature. However, some appreciation of the ascending ladder of our being from the
spiritual to the Divine to the Eternal can be of help. It appears that, the Divine is the real Spiritual Ego,
Higher Manas in close union with Buddhi, the vehicle of Atma and the Eternal is the Higher Self, the
Atma, the inseparable ray of the Universal and ONE SELF.
In the Diagram, the Acquisitions and Deprivations are preceded by "Then the normal state of our
consciousness must be moulded by:-". This indicates that the role of the Acquisitions and Deprivations
is to strengthen the inuence of the real Spiritual Ego via the Antahkarana over the lower self. This
takes place not only in the sitting meditation but must also be done in daily life.
Diagram: Acquisitions -"I am all Space and Time. Beyond that(It cannot be
said)."
The nature of our real Spiritual Ego is of all Space and Time. Meditation on this acquisition turns or
opens our consciousness towards our real Spiritual Ego. It is a positive approach to identifying only with
the Real, the Innite and Eternal which the mind can only conceive of in terms of "I am all Space and
Time. Beyond that (It cannot be said).".
The rst sub Acquisition states that the normal state of our consciousness should be moulded by
"Perpetual Presence in Imagination in all Space and Time". This and "I am all Space and Time. Beyond
that (It cannot be said)." point towards a state of knowing or awareness which appears to correlate
with the Maha Chohan's "recognise our true Self, in a transcendental divine life" and some of
Krishnamurti's observations, although he expressed it in different ways. In Krishnamurti's Notebook,
p.143: "Meditation yielded to the otherness; it was of shattering purity. Its purity left no residue; it was
there, that is all and nothing existed. As there was nothing, it was. It was the purity of all essence. This
peace is a vast, boundless space of immeasurable emptiness." On p.160: "This new, this depth was
expanding, exploding, going away, developing in its own explosions but out of time and beyond time
and space". Light on the Path, Rule 4, p. 20 tells us "Live neither in the present nor the future, but in the
Eternal".
The other sub Acquisitions also aim to bring about perceptions and feelings with resultant behaviour
which is in line with a view of life from a perspective of the transcendental Unity of All Life. In brief
they focus on the essential Unity and hence ultimate inner equality of all mankind and the perception
that incarnation or "embodiment" brings limitation to all beings and hence any criticism (discernment?)
should be without praise or blame. These perceptions give rise to benevolence, sympathy, justice etc and
the resultant behaviour forms part of the practice of the transcendental virtues or Paramitas.
Diagram: Deprivations - "I am without attributes"
Our sense of self at the personal level is a complex aggregate of "attributes" formed by our lower nature
and our experiences in the world resulting in our conditioning. From the Diagram of the Scale of
Emanations in The Inner Group Teachings of H.P. Blavatsky, p. 90, we can see that the attributes are
emanations of the personality, the illusory self and not of the real Spiritual Ego which is represented
there by the Kumaras. The Maha Chohan's letter tells us to "get rid of our own Ego, the illusory,
apparent self" and the Deprivations point out that our real Self is actually without these attributes and is
held in "bondage, ignorance and strife" because of our identication with them. From the perspective of
the real Spiritual Ego whose real life reaches up to and is part of a transcendental divine life in All Space
and Time the attributes are not real and do not exist on the plane of the real Spiritual Ego.
In the Diagram, the Deprivations are preceded by: "Constant refusal to think of the reality of:" the list of
attributes. This appears to correlate with the Maha Chohan's "get rid of our own Ego, the illusory,
apparent self" and also with Krishnamurti's "dying to the known". The attributes represent what is
known and thought to be real at the personal level but these according to the Diagram are not real for our
true Spiritual Ego. For our real Spiritual Ego to be set free we must die to what is normally "the known",
that is the attributes. Meditating on the Deprivations results not just in a de-identication of our sense of
self from these "attributes" but the positive perception that "I am without attributes". It produces a
constant awareness that the attributes are not part of the true Self. The practice of the Deprivations can
play a key role in restraining the lower self by the Antahkarana, that still pure aspect of manas which is
unpolluted by kama and which listens and responds to the real Spiritual Ego.
Although the Acquisitions and Deprivations are practiced in "sitting" meditation they must also be
practiced in daily life. Life itself is the great teacher and the problems that life brings, although they can
be the causes of suffering, they can also become the means for insight and hence spiritual
transformation. The Diagram provides a means in the midst of the challenges of daily life to unfold and
maintain spiritual perceptions and detachment.
Conclusions
HPB's Diagram of Meditation is based on some of the most fundamental esoteric principles about the
nature of Deity and Being. It points to what in our nature is real, permanent and transcendental and what
is illusory and transitory. Its unique approach is a way or process of spiritual transformation by
providing pointers to perceptions from the perspective of the transcendental Unity of all life. Such is its
scope and profoundness that it comprises not only the mystic yogic path of inner union with our Higher
Self through the rst two steps but also in the Acquisitions and Deprivations the foundation for the
practice of the paramitas in the midst of daily life.
H.P.B's Diagram of Meditation