7TH DAYS COURSE-LESSON 5-THE COSMIC CYCLE

 

LESSON 5

THE COSMIC CYCLE

5.1 This lesson is on the subject of the cosmic cycle according to the teachings given to us by the Supreme Father through the human instrument who was given the name Praja pita Brahma. Every aspect of these teachings has relevance, both to our stage of meditation and also to our day to day activity. This is the purpose of spiritual knowledge: that it should bring me closer to the Supreme Being so that I can take power and strength from Him. It would be the knowledge that will help me in my day to day activities so that I then know how my karma, my own human curiosity, it will not serve the twofold purpose of bringing me closer to the Supreme, and helping me in my day to day activity.

 

5.2    The secretes of the cycle cover the three aspects of time: the past, the present and the future. Interestingly, there are only these three aspects. There just is not a fourth. There is that which happened in the past, there is the present and then there is the future. And that which is in the past was at some point the present, that which is present will immediately become the past, and that which is of the future will, within the next moment, become part of the present. So we see that past, present and future are only terms applicable to physical dimensions of consciousness and the physical dimensions of time. What would happen if we were to move beyond physical consciousness? Then we would see that in fact there is absolutely no difference at all between the past, the present or the future. We would see instead a rotating cycle: the future becoming the present, and that very soon becoming the past. We would see a wheel spinning, and it is this concept of the wheel that brings about a real awareness of the whole idea of eternity.

 

5.3   Perhaps eternity is one of the most difficult things for the human mind to comprehend, and even with understanding, it is difficult to apply that awareness to one’s day to day activity, because the human mind is accustomed to thinking in terms of a beginning and an end. When we think about eternity, no beginning no end, there is a tremendous fear because then the mind is trying to think of a past that stretches beyond the limits of awareness, things that I cannot remember, things that I cannot recall. And one tries to comprehend a future that reaches out towards infinity, a time without end. To be suspended in this timeless state is likely to cause great fear if there is “physical” consciousness.

 

5.4 In physical consciousness I am content to stay within the walls that I have built around my consciousness. I do not wish to know the distant past or the distant future; I am quite content just to know the past I can understand immediately, a past that takes me back maybe ten years, twenty years, thirty years of this human life. And very often I do not even want to know about the next ten years. Yes, perhaps I would be curious to know what the next year will bring, hence the great interest in horoscopes, astrology and such things, but am I really concerned about knowing what the next ten years hold? Obviously, there are so many unknowable factors that I would wonder, will I be alone, or will I be with someone whom I love, will I will be old and grey, will I be weak and firm-what will my physical situation be? There are so many question marks, and so many fears and doubts in just thinking about the immediate future, even just in terms of my own personal identity, let alone the state of the world, that often the soul is happy to stay of ignorance. In this situation, it could be said that “ignorance is bliss” because there is no need to be making any extra effort-let me just work for my day to day survival, let me just be concerned about what tomorrow will bring. Why should I care about anything further in the future?

 

5.5 And yet, it seems the soul is not content with these physical restrictions of time and space. There is something within the self that asks, “Where was I before this particular body came into existence?” And even the most stable person, however, caught up in materialism, will sometimes have the question, “Where will I go once I leave this body? Will there simply be death and ashes? Is there anything else beyond?” Where there is this curiosity, and the soul begins to search for its own identity, it becomes aware of itself as a greater being, a being of light, separate from the physical body. In this consciousness, it has risen above the dimensions of time and distance, and it begins to experience its own immortality, its own eternity-I have always existed, I exist now, I will always exist. I become aware of my eternal existence without a beginning, without an end.

 

5.6 In this state of awareness I begin to see the cycle patterns of events within the cosmic history. I see my own eternal being, I see within myself my own eternal personality traits or sanskars, and I see how I the soul move through an eternal, and complete cyclic pattern of existence, I see how this is not only related to myself, the individual soul, but, being aware myself as a soul and recognising others around me as souls, I see how they too are part of this whole cyclic pattern. I see how the cycle is made up of actions and reactions; actions and reactions interweaving with each other so that the history of one soul becomes inseparable from the history of others. I see how, going through a cyclic pattern, there must be change at every step. At no two points on the circumference of a circle is there movement in the same direction. I begin at one point facing in one direction, at the next step my direction has changed, and so I see how there is constant change and yet, because there is a very definite pattern within the constant change, there is still stable. I see a spinning wheel, yet it is not one spinning in chaos, I see a wheel spinning in order, with perfect accuracy.

 

5.7  The cycle is sometimes called Drama because the cosmic cycle is made up of many human souls each acting his or its particular role on the world stage. As each plays its own part, its own karma(its actions and reactions)  build-up to form this intricate and beautiful network of many scenes in which there are a thousand actors on the stage, and each one is moving with absolute precision and each one is moving in a totally unique way. Now multiply this stage set of a thousand by millions and you begin to see the huge and unlimited dimensions of this cosmic cycle, this eternal drama in which you and I are also actors playing our roles. Not only is the drama unlimited in that it encompasses all human souls, all the actors on the world stage, but in comparison to the little drama of one or two-hour duration, it is also unlimited in term of time, stretching out for a period of many thousands of years. In fact, just as any other drama has a specific duration, so too does this one have a very definite time period, one of 5,000 years, and within this period, there is an infinite variety of changing scenes. What is the beauty of any other drama? It is that the different scenes bring about a variety of experiences to the observers, and the players themselves enjoy acting in such a variety of scenes. So let us become observers for a short while and see the infinite stage of the earth, stretched below us, and let us observe the scenes taking place on this world stage.

5.8 THE UNLIMITED DRAMA- SCENE 1

The sun and the moon provides lights for the stage, and we can see the drama as it begins. Of course, the drama is eternal, infinite, without beginning, without end, yet there is a very specific sequence of events, so let us make a starting point. The most logical one would be when the drama scene, first of all, opens up with very few actors in the world stages. We see the earth in its youngest form; We see the earth in its newest form; we see nature and all the aspects of matter sparkle in the highest state of beauty, in fact, we see nature in a perfect state where there is complete harmony; the earth, the air, the water, the fire, the skies, all blending together to provide the most beautiful background for the actors to make their appearance. In fact, beauty is tremendous, that this can be described as a perfect paradise; it could even be called the Garden of Eden. We see the beauty in the flowers, we see the beauty in the waters, and there is fragrance all around. We feel the touch of the wind on our cheeks as if caressing them, and we are here in this land where beings do not seem to be ordinary mortals, but it is though deities have incarnated on this earth. I see men and women with smiles in their eyes, smiles on their faces and laughter in their words. I see the love radiating from each one all around touching everyone they meet. I see my dream of paradise here on the earth. This is the Age of Truth, this is the Golden Age, this is the Age which man is perfect, in which there is love, in which there is harmony. I see the rulers of this perfect Paradise, for it seems to be a kingdom. I see these rulers ruling with total love and complete authority. I see how their words of wisdom are sought by their subjects, so that there is no need for them to write down laws, to make laws, for their words are instantly obeyed, their word is a natural law. In fact, not only is there the law, the life itself is based on law, and so this is the kingdom of the Golden Age. This is a new age that awaits us. This is Satyuga, the Ancient Kingdom of deities. In this world of Satyuga, there are human beings who are deities. A kingdom, but a kingdom which is based on the disciplines of divinity, in which there is no need for advisors, a kingdom whose rulers have God-given gifts of wisdom and justice. I see how they wear a crown, a crown of light- a halo that surrounds them. I see them also wearing a crown of jewels, a crown showing their governing strength, their power. It seems to be a world in which there is total unity, a world in which there is oneness, one world kingdom, and one world religion. The language of these people seems to be one of sweetness and silence and so there is one language for all.

I look around and see the happiness on every face. Whether young or old, there is still absolute beauty. I see no signs of sickness or even death. I see how a soul leaves one body when it has become too old to carry on further, and simply moving away, out of that costume and flying within a second to another tiny body which awaits to receive the spirit. Another more beautiful, more perfect little form awaits the soul and those around the old person have no need for tears. There is no sorrow, there is no separation. The soul has simply gone to the next part of its journey, leaving one shore yet having friends and relatives waiting to greet it as it lands on the other shore, like a ferry boat going from one side to the other. There is no question of sorrow or suffering at all. I see a world where there is not only the beauty of spirit, and the eternal of nature, but where there is also beauty in human beings themselves. Every being has been shaped with the hand of the Supreme so that the physical form reflects the beauty of the spirit within. Faces are glowing, eyes are perfect, and every aspect of each human being is divine.

These human beings live together, they work together. Yes, there is work, but not the toil and labour we know today, even as they work, it is as though they are dancing. As they go into the fields to sow the seeds, there is none of the tedious labour of digging the land and soil, the earth is fresh, it is fertile and waiting to receive those seeds and with just the wave of a hand, it is as though the seed is sprouting, and beautiful fruits emerge so quickly. How was all this achieved? Everything around the soul, including nature, exists to serve that soul, so naturally, when the soul is pure and the spirit powerful, it brings about purity in the world. This is the Garden of paradise where human beings first live, in the first part of the world cycle.

5.9 SCENE II

However, the cycle has to move on as souls pass through the different ages- different scenes within the Drama. They move from the Golden Age into the Silver Age, that is, from the time of the sun Dynasty where the sun spread its powerful light to the period of the Moon Dynasty. Here too is Heaven on the earth. The same purity and divinity; one kingdom, one land, and one law, as before, but the certain lustre has been removed and the purity has diminished a little. We have moved from the stage of being 100% complete to a stage of 80%. As the soul has passed through its different births, it has gradually been losing its original energy and power, thus moving from the Golden Age to the Silver Age. But these two ages, the whole of the first half of the cycle, could be described as the Day of Divinity, a time when there is light and awareness when there is the spirituality and souls are aware of their true identity. Why was the soul referred to as being like gold in the Golden Age? Pure gold is a metal which is completely unaffected by the external elements- water, wind, air. It remains untarnished. Similarly, the soul in that first period on the world stage, unaffected by anything external, the master in charge of its situation. Once the soul has moved into the Silver age some of the power is lost, so, like Silver, it becomes tarnished after a while.

From the Day of Sunshine, the light of total awareness, the soul continues to move round- to the third scene of the Drama Cycle, the Copper Age.

5.10 SCENE- III

Here there is a vast change in consciousness. That soul that was silver aged, has, over time lost its power and become tarnished. The physical elements have affected it, and it moves into a stage which is described as body consciousness. Man falls from his pedestal of divinity, the spirit now comes into the bondage of matter. Man is no longer the master of matter, but matter now dominates man. And this is the age that is described as the age of duality. In the first two parts of the cycle, half the cycle, there was complete unity, for there was the consciousness of the spirit, more often than not, the awareness of the physical, which means the awareness of the body. This split in consciousness brings about a total split within the personality, so that those qualities which were divine-purity, peace and love-are now coming into conflict, or are now being challenged by other aspects. There is sometimes confusion and the soul is pulled from its stage of complete purity into thoughts of the physical attractions of the body and impurity begins to pull it down from its highest level.

Because of this change in consciousness there is bondage for the soul. It no longer has the strength to maintain its pure stage, and negativity of many different varieties begins to affect it. Sometimes there are the thoughts of lust, of anger and greed-and attachment begins to emerge. There is also arrogance and ego. Where before there was the purest vision of love for all, there is now the vision of lust, because the body is pulling the soul. Now because there is a concern for the self rather than for others, and my desires are not fulfilled, violence erupts; there is anger. Previously, absolutely everything was available, but now I begin to have thoughts of greed and to covet other people’s things. I desire to have more than I need. When there was pure love there was complete freedom of spirit, but now there is the grossest form of attachment and possessiveness. Not only do I think of myself as a body, but I also begin to demand possession of other bodies as well. I make demands on my relatives and my friends, and so the ropes of attachment grow stronger. My vision is tainted with the consciousness of my own physical being; this causes ego and arrogance. When such a transformation has taken place within the soul, it is not surprising that it is now referred to as copper Aged, it is being influenced by the external elements, like copper, it has become very tarnished.

Parallel to these changes in the soul, there are changes in the world; now many kingdoms arise out of battles caused by greed and jealousy. Instead of one religion of peace and purity, many “bodily” religions come into existence. Messengers are sent to us from the Supreme Regions to try and show us the path of light, but the Night has already started and dusk grows deeper and darker. It reaches the stage of total darkness when there is not a trace of light anywhere.

5.11 SCENE IV

We are now in the Iron Age. The age when the soul is so completely under the influence of the external that it has become rusted, even poisonous. Just as iron is affected by water and wind, similarly the soul is so full of evil that it is dominated by Body Consciousness-lust, anger, greed, attachment and ego. The world itself is also influenced, and we see before us a period of extreme violence, corruption, great sorrow and suffering. Since the beginning of the Copper Age, nature, which at one time used to serve man, has been reacting against him. It is now so violent that man is struggling for survival. There is untimely death, and this death comes with great sickness, pain and suffering. Once the man was in the land of happiness, but this the land of sorrow, and he wonders: is this the story of existence? Is there any purpose to exist at all? From freedom to bondage, and now there is nothing but chains binding the soul. Even in the relationship- wherein the Golden Age was just pure love- now there seems to be pain and sorrow. Every connection; mother and child, husband and wife, brother and sister, is one of bondage.

5.12 SCENE V

It is at this period, however, at the very end of Iron age that the Supreme Soul, the sun of knowledge intervenes. When the Sun comes, the darkness of night is dispelled, and day can begin once more. We are so fortunate to find ourselves in this period of time, for this is the dawn, leading to the day. We are no longer in the Iron Age. The Iron Age continues to exist, but for those who recognise the Sun of knowledge and who experience a relationship with Him, there is light. Such souls have moved out of the darkness and into the dawn. They prepare themselves to greet the fresh new day and help others by leading them to that New Day. This period of conjunction, the end of the old cycle and the beginning of the new, is called the Confluence Age.

If the new age is described as the Golden Age, then this period of Confluence can be described as the Diamond age. Within such a short space of time so much is experienced, so much transformation takes place and the soul becomes as valuable as a diamond. It bridges the gap between the end and the beginning; it moves from darkness into light. This is the age when the entire knowledge is revealed, the age of wisdom, the age of preparation. As the soul passes through this part of the cycle it understands the World Drama and can

see the entire stage, to see its own role within the drama and it prepares itself with complete purity so that it can move forward into the Golden Age. We are just the short step away from that Golden age of paradise.

5.13 MEDITATION- KNOWING

Sit comfortably in a quiet place and linger over each phrase.

SUGGESTED THOUGHTS FOR MEDITATION

As I become aware of myself, the being of light...... I step beyond my costume....beyond the stage of this physical world...I see how the soul travelled through the ages...

I am the actor, the player, of the drama..... who has come through so many scenes.... so many episodes....from the great, golden Kingdom of the Sun....with its glorious beauty and perfect harmony... through the Kingdom of the Moon.....to the Copper Age, where all cried out, searched for truth, for light....through to the darkness of the Iron Age....and in my moments of the desperation of the Supreme Father intervened... and now I find myself in front of the Supreme ....a being of light.....I stand on the Confluence....the age between the old and the new....and, I bathe in the light of God...

I am transformed...my own original role is experienced quite clearly ...I was pure...now in this consciousness, I become pure once again...

It was I who was the embodiment of love...I forget myself and developed hatred...but now...I know who I am...a deity soul with love for my entire family of all humanity...

I become the embodiment of love...the instrument to spread love into the world...

In this awareness, I prepare my role for the New Age which is about to begin.

5.14 HELPFUL METHODS FOR THE DAY

Harmony, Tolerance, Brotherly Regard-

Each soul is a unique actor with his own unique role in the drama. If others are acting in a way that seems wrong and I lose my treasure of peace and spirituality in criticism or even anger, there is a double loss, for me and for others. If instead, I see all actors as having their own unique part, the scenes of the drama become a wonder. I lose my peaceless reaction, and instead, I spread calmness, contentment and peace which will reach the other and help him to control his own role much better and thus harmony is created.

5.15 STUDY

The whole human drama is also called the cycle of Self-Realisation. That is, the soul looks at its history, seeing and realising the cycle it has itself passed through. Now you are invited to see your own self throughout the whole cycle of drama(as you answer these questions).

QUESTIONS

5A. Can you explain why the World Cycle is called drama?

5B.Briefly state what the lifestyle is like in the first two scenes of the Drama?

5C.What factors have come into play in the third and fourth scene of the cycle that has led to a radical change of consciousness?

5D.What happens at the final scene, or Confluence Age?