Mental plane
Encyclopedia
The mental plane, or world of thought, in Hermeticism
, Theosophical
, Rosicrucian
, Aurobindonian
, and New Age
thought refers to the macrocosmic or universal plane or reality
that is made up purely of thought
or mindstuff. In contrast to Western
secular
modernist
and post-modern
thought, in occult and esoteric cosmology
, thoughts and consciousness
are not just a byproduct of brain
functioning, but have their own "objective
" and universal
reality quite independent of the physical
. This reality itself constitutes only one gradation in a whole series of planes of existence
(the total number of planes varies, although seven is a common number in Theosophical formulations). In most such cosmologies and explanations of reality, the Mental Plane is located between, and hence is intermediate between, the astral plane
below and the higher spiritual realms of existence above.
referred to five levels of self, of which the middle one is the "self made of mind" (manas
) Although the text is describing the nature of the individual rather than the cosmos as a whole, it established the concept of mind
as only one of a series of ontological
layers of being. The Taittiriyan concept of the five selves would represent an important element of Vedantic ontology, for example the five koshas of Advaita Vedanta
.
Meanwhile in Greece, and coming from a philosophical-mystical rather than a yogic perspective, Plato
spoke of archetypal forms or ideas
as the original spiritual prototypes behind the physical world. These ideas were not equivalent to mind or thought as such. But they did eventually help inspire Middle Platonic
(including Philo
's) and Neoplatonic
metaphysics in which the ideas exist in the mind of God or the Demiurge, or (according to Plotinus
and hence Neoplatonism) the Divine Mind or Nous
. In the metaphysics of Proclus
, the Nous is only one level of hypostasis
, with higher ones like Life, Being, and Unity above it.
movement.
H. P. Blavatsky taught a cosmology and ontology consisting of seven principles
and seven planes. In her writings she aimed at showing how different spiritual systems share a common source, and therefore refers to Vedantic, Buddhist, Samkhyan, Tantric, Neoplatonic, Ancient Egyptian, Kabbalistic, and Occult systems. She relates the mind with the principle of Manas, and also talks about a kosmic Manasic plane. However, the latter represents a very sublime level of consciousness which can be experienced only by enlightened beings.
In The Kabbalah Unveiled, MacGregor Mathers
divides the sephirot (apart from the lowest, Malkhut, representing the physical world) of the Tree of Life
into three triads: the Intellectual, Moral, and Astral triads. The Intellectual triad could be compared to the Neoplatonic ideas (Intellect = Nous) and this here represents the highest subdivision.
Around the turn of the twentieth century, Max
and Alma Theon
were producing The Tradition
. This involved a Lurianic Kabbalistic-inspired cosmology in which the ineffable Godhead emanates a number of sublime worlds, the lowest of which is made up of seven or eight States. The third or fourth lowest State is the Mental or Intellectual, which again corresponds to a very high, spiritual level of consciousness.
's Rosicrucian
writings, immediately beyond the higher regions of the desire world
— which exhibit the marked peculiarity of blending form
and sound
— and before entering the world of thought (mental plane), there is the "Great Silence", where all the world seems to disappear and the spirit has the feeling of floating in an ocean of intense light: all is one eternal
now. The world of thought is, according to this author, divided into two regions: the "Region of Concrete Thought" (inferior) related to the mind
and the "Region of Abstract Thought" (superior) related to the third (lower) aspect of the threefold Ego, the Human Spirit aspect.
His writings, called Western Wisdom Teachings
, describe that the Memory of Nature
may be read, in an entirely different manner covering the essence of a whole life, in the highest subdivision of the Region of Concrete Thought of the World of Thought.
A teaching prevalent in the West is mathematics, which was greatly added to by Pythagoreanism
and Philosophy
(Platonism
, Neoplatonism
), the oldest non-mythic (besides Egyptian) Western wisdom teachings. Math once meant "magic
" and is still important in occultism., especially topics farther beyond the earthly. Any mathematician who considers the mental plane's dimensionality equal to or more than the earthly one defines them as "hyperplanes." Classical Theosophists
(other precursors of Heindel) may not have defined those dimensions, but several neo-Theosophists
call the mind 5-dimensional, (i.e. in Einstein-Minkowski
spacetime
) Platonic
terms such as nous
or Nous
(human or divine mind), synonymous (in contexts) with logistikon/logos
or Protologos/Logos-Alogos
, and vAristotelean (empiricist, including much/all constructivism
) acceptance/use of the terms differ. They may reject that Logos Alogos
causes Protologos or Logoi
cause/are Nous
, or that such or infinite dimensions enumerated in abstract philosophical logic
have any use in semi-abstract/-concrete mathematical logic. However, contemporary philosophers are considering dimensions of M-theory
physics.
or vehicles of consciousness
with a corresponding cosmic plane. So there is a physical body that is the vehicle of consciousness on the dense matter of the physical plane
; an etheric body
, which is formed by the etheric matter found on subtler counterpart of the physical plane; an astral body
that corresponds to the astral plane
; a mental body
which belongs to the lower mental plane, and a causal body
, or vehicle of the individual soul
, which is located at the level of the higher mental or Causal plane
.
Thus, for Leadbeater and subsequent theosophists, ex-theosophists (e.g. Alice Bailey
) and occultists, the Mental Plane is a distinct reality or zone of being, more subtle and refined than the Astral, but denser and coarser than the Causal. A detailed account of The Mental Plane and the Mental Body and their associated phenomena, as described by Leadbeater and his co-worker Annie Besant
(who succeeded Blavatsky as head of the Theosophical Society), can be found in Arthur E. Powell
's The Mental Body.
Sri Aurobindo
developed a very different concept of the Mental Plane, through his own synthesis of Vedanta (including the Taittiriya Upanishad), Tantra, Theosophy, and Theon's ideas (which he received via The Mother
, who was Theon's student in occultism for two years). In this cosmology, there are seven cosmic planes, three lower, corresponding to relative existence (the Physical, Vital, and Mental), and four higher, representing infinite divine reality (Life Divine bk.1 ch.27) The Aurobindonian Mind or Mental Plane constitutes a large zone of being from the mental vital to the overmental divine region (Letters on Yoga, Jyoti and Prem Sobel 1984), but as with the later Theosophical concept it constitutes an objective reality of pure mind or pure thought.
Hermeticism
Hermeticism or the Western Hermetic Tradition is a set of philosophical and religious beliefs based primarily upon the pseudepigraphical writings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus...
, Theosophical
Theosophy
Theosophy, in its modern presentation, is a spiritual philosophy developed since the late 19th century. Its major themes were originally described mainly by Helena Blavatsky , co-founder of the Theosophical Society...
, Rosicrucian
Rosicrucian
Rosicrucianism is a philosophical secret society, said to have been founded in late medieval Germany by Christian Rosenkreuz. It holds a doctrine or theology "built on esoteric truths of the ancient past", which, "concealed from the average man, provide insight into nature, the physical universe...
, Aurobindonian
Sri Aurobindo
Sri Aurobindo , born Aurobindo Ghosh or Ghose , was an Indian nationalist, freedom fighter, philosopher, yogi, guru, and poet. He joined the Indian movement for freedom from British rule and for a duration became one of its most important leaders, before developing his own vision of human progress...
, and New Age
New Age
The New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...
thought refers to the macrocosmic or universal plane or reality
Reality
In philosophy, reality is the state of things as they actually exist, rather than as they may appear or might be imagined. In a wider definition, reality includes everything that is and has been, whether or not it is observable or comprehensible...
that is made up purely of thought
Thought
"Thought" generally refers to any mental or intellectual activity involving an individual's subjective consciousness. It can refer either to the act of thinking or the resulting ideas or arrangements of ideas. Similar concepts include cognition, sentience, consciousness, and imagination...
or mindstuff. In contrast to Western
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
secular
Secularism
Secularism is the principle of separation between government institutions and the persons mandated to represent the State from religious institutions and religious dignitaries...
modernist
Modernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
and post-modern
Postmodernism
Postmodernism is a philosophical movement evolved in reaction to modernism, the tendency in contemporary culture to accept only objective truth and to be inherently suspicious towards a global cultural narrative or meta-narrative. Postmodernist thought is an intentional departure from the...
thought, in occult and esoteric cosmology
Esoteric cosmology
Esoteric cosmology is cosmology that is an intrinsic part of an esoteric or occult system of thought. It almost always deals with at least some of the following themes: emanation, involution, spiritual evolution, epigenesis, planes of existence or higher worlds , hierarchies of spiritual beings,...
, thoughts and consciousness
Consciousness
Consciousness is a term that refers to the relationship between the mind and the world with which it interacts. It has been defined as: subjectivity, awareness, the ability to experience or to feel, wakefulness, having a sense of selfhood, and the executive control system of the mind...
are not just a byproduct of brain
Brain
The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...
functioning, but have their own "objective
Objectivity (philosophy)
Objectivity is a central philosophical concept which has been variously defined by sources. A proposition is generally considered to be objectively true when its truth conditions are met and are "mind-independent"—that is, not met by the judgment of a conscious entity or subject.- Objectivism...
" and universal
Universality (philosophy)
In philosophy, universalism is a doctrine or school claiming universal facts can be discovered and is therefore understood as being in opposition to relativism. In certain religions, universality is the quality ascribed to an entity whose existence is consistent throughout the universe...
reality quite independent of the physical
Physical plane
The physical plane , physical world, or physical universe, in emanationist metaphysics such as are found in Neoplatonism, Hermeticism, Hinduism and Theosophy, refers to the visible reality of space and time, energy and matter: the physical universe in Occultism and esoteric cosmology is the lowest...
. This reality itself constitutes only one gradation in a whole series of planes of existence
Existence
In common usage, existence is the world we are aware of through our senses, and that persists independently without them. In academic philosophy the word has a more specialized meaning, being contrasted with essence, which specifies different forms of existence as well as different identity...
(the total number of planes varies, although seven is a common number in Theosophical formulations). In most such cosmologies and explanations of reality, the Mental Plane is located between, and hence is intermediate between, the astral plane
Astral plane
The astral plane, also called the astral world, is a plane of existence postulated by classical , medieval, oriental and esoteric philosophies and mystery religions...
below and the higher spiritual realms of existence above.
Predecessors of the concept
In India in the seventh century b.c.e., the Taittiriya UpanishadTaittiriya Upanishad
The Taittiriya Upanishad is one of the older, "primary" Upanishads commented upon by Shankara. It is associated with the Taittiriya school of the Yajurveda...
referred to five levels of self, of which the middle one is the "self made of mind" (manas
Manas
Manas may refer to one of the following:*Manas, a Kyrgyz epic poem with 500,000 lines.*The Pali and Sanskrit term for "mind"; see**Manas **Manas-vijnana, one of the eight consciousnesses taught in Yogacara Buddhism...
) Although the text is describing the nature of the individual rather than the cosmos as a whole, it established the concept of mind
Mind
The concept of mind is understood in many different ways by many different traditions, ranging from panpsychism and animism to traditional and organized religious views, as well as secular and materialist philosophies. Most agree that minds are constituted by conscious experience and intelligent...
as only one of a series of ontological
Ontology
Ontology is the philosophical study of the nature of being, existence or reality as such, as well as the basic categories of being and their relations...
layers of being. The Taittiriyan concept of the five selves would represent an important element of Vedantic ontology, for example the five koshas of Advaita Vedanta
Advaita Vedanta
Advaita Vedanta is considered to be the most influential and most dominant sub-school of the Vedānta school of Hindu philosophy. Other major sub-schools of Vedānta are Dvaita and ; while the minor ones include Suddhadvaita, Dvaitadvaita and Achintya Bhedabheda...
.
Meanwhile in Greece, and coming from a philosophical-mystical rather than a yogic perspective, Plato
Plato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
spoke of archetypal forms or ideas
Platonic realism
Platonic realism is a philosophical term usually used to refer to the idea of realism regarding the existence of universals or abstract objects after the Greek philosopher Plato , a student of Socrates. As universals were considered by Plato to be ideal forms, this stance is confusingly also called...
as the original spiritual prototypes behind the physical world. These ideas were not equivalent to mind or thought as such. But they did eventually help inspire Middle Platonic
Middle Platonism
Middle Platonism is the modern name given to a stage in the development of Plato's philosophy, lasting from about 90 BC, when Antiochus of Ascalon rejected the scepticism of the New Academy, until the development of Neoplatonism under Plotinus in the 3rd century. Middle Platonism absorbed many...
(including Philo
Philo
Philo , known also as Philo of Alexandria , Philo Judaeus, Philo Judaeus of Alexandria, Yedidia, "Philon", and Philo the Jew, was a Hellenistic Jewish Biblical philosopher born in Alexandria....
's) and Neoplatonic
Neoplatonism
Neoplatonism , is the modern term for a school of religious and mystical philosophy that took shape in the 3rd century AD, based on the teachings of Plato and earlier Platonists, with its earliest contributor believed to be Plotinus, and his teacher Ammonius Saccas...
metaphysics in which the ideas exist in the mind of God or the Demiurge, or (according to Plotinus
Plotinus
Plotinus was a major philosopher of the ancient world. In his system of theory there are the three principles: the One, the Intellect, and the Soul. His teacher was Ammonius Saccas and he is of the Platonic tradition...
and hence Neoplatonism) the Divine Mind or Nous
Nous
Nous , also called intellect or intelligence, is a philosophical term for the faculty of the human mind which is described in classical philosophy as necessary for understanding what is true or real, very close in meaning to intuition...
. In the metaphysics of Proclus
Proclus
Proclus Lycaeus , called "The Successor" or "Diadochos" , was a Greek Neoplatonist philosopher, one of the last major Classical philosophers . He set forth one of the most elaborate and fully developed systems of Neoplatonism...
, the Nous is only one level of hypostasis
Hypostasis (Neoplatonism)
The word hypostasis means underlying state or underlying substance. It is the fundamental reality that supports all else. Neoplatonists argue that behind the surface phenomena that present themselves to our senses are three higher spiritual principles or hypostases, each one more sublime than the...
, with higher ones like Life, Being, and Unity above it.
Theosophical and Hermetic interpretations
The esoteric conception of the Mental Plane had to wait till the occult revival of the late 19th century, with the development of modern Theosophical, Hermetic, and Kabbalistic ideas that were to serve as the foundation for the current New AgeNew Age
The New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...
movement.
H. P. Blavatsky taught a cosmology and ontology consisting of seven principles
Septenary (Theosophy)
The Septenary in Helena Blavatsky's teachings refers to the seven principles of man. In The Key to Theosophy she presents a synthesis of Eastern and Western ideas, according to which human nature consists of seven principles...
and seven planes. In her writings she aimed at showing how different spiritual systems share a common source, and therefore refers to Vedantic, Buddhist, Samkhyan, Tantric, Neoplatonic, Ancient Egyptian, Kabbalistic, and Occult systems. She relates the mind with the principle of Manas, and also talks about a kosmic Manasic plane. However, the latter represents a very sublime level of consciousness which can be experienced only by enlightened beings.
In The Kabbalah Unveiled, MacGregor Mathers
Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers
Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers , born Samuel Liddell Mathers, was one of the most influential figures in modern Occultism...
divides the sephirot (apart from the lowest, Malkhut, representing the physical world) of the Tree of Life
Tree of Life
The tree of life in the Book of Genesis is a tree planted by God in midst of the Garden of Eden , whose fruit gives everlasting life, i.e. immortality. Together with the tree of life, God planted the tree of the knowledge of good and evil . According to some scholars, however, these are in fact...
into three triads: the Intellectual, Moral, and Astral triads. The Intellectual triad could be compared to the Neoplatonic ideas (Intellect = Nous) and this here represents the highest subdivision.
Around the turn of the twentieth century, Max
Max Theon
Max Théon perhaps born Louis-Maximilian Bimstein, was a Polish Jewish Kabbalist and Occultist. In London while still a young man, he inspired The Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor in 1884, but seemed to have little to do with the day to day running of the organisation, or indeed its actual teachings...
and Alma Theon
Alma Theon
Alma Theon , born Mary Chrystine Woodroffe Ware , was an occultist and clairvoyant, and wife and co-worker of Max Theon....
were producing The Tradition
Cosmic Tradition
The Cosmic Tradition is a series of six volumes, and also a cosmological doctrine, authored by Max and Alma Theon around the turn of the 20th century. The books, four volumes of which are available on-line in French, tell a creation myth and the early history of the world, in an elaborate...
. This involved a Lurianic Kabbalistic-inspired cosmology in which the ineffable Godhead emanates a number of sublime worlds, the lowest of which is made up of seven or eight States. The third or fourth lowest State is the Mental or Intellectual, which again corresponds to a very high, spiritual level of consciousness.
The world of thought in the Western Wisdom Teachings
According to Max HeindelMax Heindel
Max Heindel - born Carl Louis von Grasshoff in Aarhus, Denmark on July 23, 1865 - was a Christian occultist, astrologer, and mystic. He died on January 6, 1919 at Oceanside, California, United States.- Early infancy :...
's Rosicrucian
Rosicrucian
Rosicrucianism is a philosophical secret society, said to have been founded in late medieval Germany by Christian Rosenkreuz. It holds a doctrine or theology "built on esoteric truths of the ancient past", which, "concealed from the average man, provide insight into nature, the physical universe...
writings, immediately beyond the higher regions of the desire world
Astral plane
The astral plane, also called the astral world, is a plane of existence postulated by classical , medieval, oriental and esoteric philosophies and mystery religions...
— which exhibit the marked peculiarity of blending form
Substantial form
A theory of substantial forms asserts that forms organize matter and make it intelligible. Substantial forms are the source of properties, order, unity, identity, and information about objects....
and sound
Sound
Sound is a mechanical wave that is an oscillation of pressure transmitted through a solid, liquid, or gas, composed of frequencies within the range of hearing and of a level sufficiently strong to be heard, or the sensation stimulated in organs of hearing by such vibrations.-Propagation of...
— and before entering the world of thought (mental plane), there is the "Great Silence", where all the world seems to disappear and the spirit has the feeling of floating in an ocean of intense light: all is one eternal
Eternity
While in the popular mind, eternity often simply means existence for a limitless amount of time, many have used it to refer to a timeless existence altogether outside time. By contrast, infinite temporal existence is then called sempiternity. Something eternal exists outside time; by contrast,...
now. The world of thought is, according to this author, divided into two regions: the "Region of Concrete Thought" (inferior) related to the mind
Mental body
The mental body is one of the subtle bodies in esoteric philosophies, in some religious teachings and in New Age thought. It is understood as a sort of body made up of thoughts, just as the emotional body consists of emotions and the physical body is made up of matter...
and the "Region of Abstract Thought" (superior) related to the third (lower) aspect of the threefold Ego, the Human Spirit aspect.
His writings, called Western Wisdom Teachings
Western Wisdom Teachings
Western Wisdom Teachings may refer to:*The Western mystery tradition*The Esoteric Christian philosophy of the Rosicrucians as expounded by Max Heindel in The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception and subsequent books, lectures and lessons....
, describe that the Memory of Nature
Akashic Records
The akashic records is a term used in theosophy to describe a compendium of mystical knowledge encoded in a non-physical plane of existence. These records are described as containing all knowledge of human experience and the history of the cosmos...
may be read, in an entirely different manner covering the essence of a whole life, in the highest subdivision of the Region of Concrete Thought of the World of Thought.
A teaching prevalent in the West is mathematics, which was greatly added to by Pythagoreanism
Pythagoreanism
Pythagoreanism was the system of esoteric and metaphysical beliefs held by Pythagoras and his followers, the Pythagoreans, who were considerably influenced by mathematics. Pythagoreanism originated in the 5th century BCE and greatly influenced Platonism...
and Philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
(Platonism
Platonism
Platonism is the philosophy of Plato or the name of other philosophical systems considered closely derived from it. In a narrower sense the term might indicate the doctrine of Platonic realism...
, Neoplatonism
Neoplatonism
Neoplatonism , is the modern term for a school of religious and mystical philosophy that took shape in the 3rd century AD, based on the teachings of Plato and earlier Platonists, with its earliest contributor believed to be Plotinus, and his teacher Ammonius Saccas...
), the oldest non-mythic (besides Egyptian) Western wisdom teachings. Math once meant "magic
Magic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...
" and is still important in occultism., especially topics farther beyond the earthly. Any mathematician who considers the mental plane's dimensionality equal to or more than the earthly one defines them as "hyperplanes." Classical Theosophists
Theosophy
Theosophy, in its modern presentation, is a spiritual philosophy developed since the late 19th century. Its major themes were originally described mainly by Helena Blavatsky , co-founder of the Theosophical Society...
(other precursors of Heindel) may not have defined those dimensions, but several neo-Theosophists
Neo-Theosophy
The term Neo-Theosophy is a term, originally derogatory, used by the followers of Blavatsky to denominate the system of Theosophical ideas expounded by Annie Besant and Charles Webster Leadbeater following the death of Madame Blavatsky in 1891...
call the mind 5-dimensional, (i.e. in Einstein-Minkowski
Minkowski
Minkowski is a surname, and may refer to:* Eugène Minkowski , French psychiatrist* Hermann Minkowski Russian-born German mathematician and physicist, known for:** Minkowski addition** Minkowski–Bouligand dimension...
spacetime
Spacetime
In physics, spacetime is any mathematical model that combines space and time into a single continuum. Spacetime is usually interpreted with space as being three-dimensional and time playing the role of a fourth dimension that is of a different sort from the spatial dimensions...
) Platonic
Platonism
Platonism is the philosophy of Plato or the name of other philosophical systems considered closely derived from it. In a narrower sense the term might indicate the doctrine of Platonic realism...
terms such as nous
Nous
Nous , also called intellect or intelligence, is a philosophical term for the faculty of the human mind which is described in classical philosophy as necessary for understanding what is true or real, very close in meaning to intuition...
or Nous
Nous
Nous , also called intellect or intelligence, is a philosophical term for the faculty of the human mind which is described in classical philosophy as necessary for understanding what is true or real, very close in meaning to intuition...
(human or divine mind), synonymous (in contexts) with logistikon/logos
Logos
' is an important term in philosophy, psychology, rhetoric and religion. Originally a word meaning "a ground", "a plea", "an opinion", "an expectation", "word," "speech," "account," "reason," it became a technical term in philosophy, beginning with Heraclitus ' is an important term in...
or Protologos/Logos-Alogos
Causeless cause
Causeless Cause, a.k.a Uncaused Cause or All-Cause is a term in Theosophical Philosophy for 'An Omnipresent, Eternal, Boundless, and Immutable Principle...' also described as 'infinity' to 'intelligence' & 'spirit' & 'consciousness' & 'essence' to 'the one...
, and vAristotelean (empiricist, including much/all constructivism
Constructivism
Constructivism may refer to:* Constructivist epistemology, the philosophical view* Constructivism in international relations* Constructivism , a philosophical view on mathematical proofs and existence of mathematical objects...
) acceptance/use of the terms differ. They may reject that Logos Alogos
Causeless cause
Causeless Cause, a.k.a Uncaused Cause or All-Cause is a term in Theosophical Philosophy for 'An Omnipresent, Eternal, Boundless, and Immutable Principle...' also described as 'infinity' to 'intelligence' & 'spirit' & 'consciousness' & 'essence' to 'the one...
causes Protologos or Logoi
Logos
' is an important term in philosophy, psychology, rhetoric and religion. Originally a word meaning "a ground", "a plea", "an opinion", "an expectation", "word," "speech," "account," "reason," it became a technical term in philosophy, beginning with Heraclitus ' is an important term in...
cause/are Nous
Nous
Nous , also called intellect or intelligence, is a philosophical term for the faculty of the human mind which is described in classical philosophy as necessary for understanding what is true or real, very close in meaning to intuition...
, or that such or infinite dimensions enumerated in abstract philosophical logic
Logic
In philosophy, Logic is the formal systematic study of the principles of valid inference and correct reasoning. Logic is used in most intellectual activities, but is studied primarily in the disciplines of philosophy, mathematics, semantics, and computer science...
have any use in semi-abstract/-concrete mathematical logic. However, contemporary philosophers are considering dimensions of M-theory
M-theory
In theoretical physics, M-theory is an extension of string theory in which 11 dimensions are identified. Because the dimensionality exceeds that of superstring theories in 10 dimensions, proponents believe that the 11-dimensional theory unites all five string theories...
physics.
Some current definitions of the mental plane
The influence of C.W. Leadbeater's work on the New Age movement has been underrated. One of Leadbeater's achievements was to make Blavatsky's difficult cosmology simpler and more understandable; for example by equating each of the seven principlesSeptenary (Theosophy)
The Septenary in Helena Blavatsky's teachings refers to the seven principles of man. In The Key to Theosophy she presents a synthesis of Eastern and Western ideas, according to which human nature consists of seven principles...
or vehicles of consciousness
Subtle body
A subtle body is one of a series of psycho-spiritual constituents of living beings, according to various esoteric, occult, and mystical teachings...
with a corresponding cosmic plane. So there is a physical body that is the vehicle of consciousness on the dense matter of the physical plane
Physical plane
The physical plane , physical world, or physical universe, in emanationist metaphysics such as are found in Neoplatonism, Hermeticism, Hinduism and Theosophy, refers to the visible reality of space and time, energy and matter: the physical universe in Occultism and esoteric cosmology is the lowest...
; an etheric body
Etheric body
The etheric body, ether-body, æther body, a name given by neo-Theosophy to a supposed vital body or subtle body propounded in esoteric philosophies as the first or lowest layer in the "human energy field" or aura...
, which is formed by the etheric matter found on subtler counterpart of the physical plane; an astral body
Astral body
The astral body is a subtle body posited by many religious philosophers, intermediate between the intelligent soul and the physical body, composed of a subtle material. The concept ultimately derives from the philosophy of Plato: it is related to an astral plane, which consists of the planetary...
that corresponds to the astral plane
Astral plane
The astral plane, also called the astral world, is a plane of existence postulated by classical , medieval, oriental and esoteric philosophies and mystery religions...
; a mental body
Mental body
The mental body is one of the subtle bodies in esoteric philosophies, in some religious teachings and in New Age thought. It is understood as a sort of body made up of thoughts, just as the emotional body consists of emotions and the physical body is made up of matter...
which belongs to the lower mental plane, and a causal body
Causal body
The Causal body - originally Karana-Sarira - is a Yogic and Vedantic concept that was adopted and modified by Theosophy and from the latter made its way into the general New Age movement and contemporary western esotericism...
, or vehicle of the individual soul
Soul
A soul in certain spiritual, philosophical, and psychological traditions is the incorporeal essence of a person or living thing or object. Many philosophical and spiritual systems teach that humans have souls, and others teach that all living things and even inanimate objects have souls. The...
, which is located at the level of the higher mental or Causal plane
Causal plane
Causal plane is a term used in Neo-Theosophy, some contemporary Vedanta, the New Age, , and sometimes Occultism, to describe a high spiritual plane of existence, i.e. . However there is great variation between the different definitions.-Neo-Theosophy:The Neo-Theosophy of Annie Besant and C. W...
.
Thus, for Leadbeater and subsequent theosophists, ex-theosophists (e.g. Alice Bailey
Alice Bailey
Alice Ann Bailey , known as Alice A. Bailey or AAB to her followers, was an influential writer and theosophist in what she termed "Ageless Wisdom". This included occult teachings, "esoteric" psychology and healing, astrological and other philosophic and religious themes...
) and occultists, the Mental Plane is a distinct reality or zone of being, more subtle and refined than the Astral, but denser and coarser than the Causal. A detailed account of The Mental Plane and the Mental Body and their associated phenomena, as described by Leadbeater and his co-worker Annie Besant
Annie Besant
Annie Besant was a prominent British Theosophist, women's rights activist, writer and orator and supporter of Irish and Indian self rule.She was married at 19 to Frank Besant but separated from him over religious differences. She then became a prominent speaker for the National Secular Society ...
(who succeeded Blavatsky as head of the Theosophical Society), can be found in Arthur E. Powell
Arthur E. Powell
Arthur Edward Powell was a Theosophist whose books were published beginning in the early 1900s. He studied the major esoteric works of Helena Blavatsky, Charles Webster Leadbeater & Annie Besant.-Family Background:...
's The Mental Body.
Sri Aurobindo
Sri Aurobindo
Sri Aurobindo , born Aurobindo Ghosh or Ghose , was an Indian nationalist, freedom fighter, philosopher, yogi, guru, and poet. He joined the Indian movement for freedom from British rule and for a duration became one of its most important leaders, before developing his own vision of human progress...
developed a very different concept of the Mental Plane, through his own synthesis of Vedanta (including the Taittiriya Upanishad), Tantra, Theosophy, and Theon's ideas (which he received via The Mother
Mirra Alfassa
-Early life:Mirra Alfassa was born in Paris in 1878, of a Turkish Jewish father, Maurice, and an Egyptian Jewish mother, Mathilde. She had an elder brother named Matteo. The family migrated to France the year before she was born. For the first eight years of her life she lived at 62 boulevard...
, who was Theon's student in occultism for two years). In this cosmology, there are seven cosmic planes, three lower, corresponding to relative existence (the Physical, Vital, and Mental), and four higher, representing infinite divine reality (Life Divine bk.1 ch.27) The Aurobindonian Mind or Mental Plane constitutes a large zone of being from the mental vital to the overmental divine region (Letters on Yoga, Jyoti and Prem Sobel 1984), but as with the later Theosophical concept it constitutes an objective reality of pure mind or pure thought.
See also
- ThoughtformThoughtformA thoughtform is a manifestation of mental energy, also known as a tulpa in Tibetan mysticism. Its concept is related to the Western philosophy and practice of magic. links mantras and yantras to thoughtforms:...
- Music of the Spheres
- Plane (cosmology)
- Esoteric cosmologyEsoteric cosmologyEsoteric cosmology is cosmology that is an intrinsic part of an esoteric or occult system of thought. It almost always deals with at least some of the following themes: emanation, involution, spiritual evolution, epigenesis, planes of existence or higher worlds , hierarchies of spiritual beings,...