The Mental Plane in Hermeticism, Theosophical, 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. Hermeticism is either of two things: The study and practice of occult philosophy and magic, of a type associated with writings attributed to the god Hermes Trismegistus, Thrice-Greatest Hermes, a syncretistic deity who combines aspects of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth. ... Seal of the Theosophical Society Theosophy is a body of belief which holds that all religions are attempts by man to ascertain the Divine, and as such each religion has a portion of the truth. ... Sri Aurobindo Sri Aurobindo (Bangla: শ্রী অরবিন্দ) (August 15, 1872–December 5, 1950) was an Indian nationalist, scholar, poet, Hindu mystic, evolutionary philosopher, yogi and guru. ... New Age describes a broad movement characterized by alternative approaches to traditional Western culture. ... A plane of existence (or plane or dimension) is in esoteric cosmology and metaphysics, a theoretical region of space and/or consciousness beyond the known universe, or the region containing the universe itself. ... Reality in everyday usage means everything that exists. ... Thought or thinking is a mental process which allows beings to model the world, and so to deal with it effectively according to their goals, plans, ends and desires. ... The term Western world or the West can have multiple meanings depending on its context. ... // Definition Secularism means: in philosophy, the belief that life can be best lived by applying ethics, and the universe best understood, by processes of reasoning, without reference to a god or gods or other supernatural concepts. ... Le Corbusiers Villa Savoye, 1929-30: The modern style is noted for its rigorous geometrical forms. ... Post-modernist architecture rejects the rigid geometricity of modernist design in favour of radical, often asymmetrical, forms Postmodernism is a term applied to a wide-ranging set of developments in critical theory, philosophy, architecture, art, literature, and culture, which are generally characterized as either emerging from, in reaction to, or... For other uses of this term, see occult (disambiguation). ... Esoteric cosmology is cosmology that is an intrinsic part of an esoteric or occult system of thought. ... Consciousness is a quality of the mind generally regarded to comprise qualities such as subjectivity, self-awareness, sentience, sapience, and the ability to perceive the relationship between oneself and ones environment. ... In the anatomy of animals, the brain, or encephalon, is the supervisory center of the nervous system. ... Objectivity has several meanings: Objectivity (philosophy) Objectivity (journalism) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Universal has several meanings: For the concept of a universal in metaphysics, see Universal (metaphysics). ... The Physical Plane or Physical Universe in Hermeticism, Theosophical and New Age thought refers to the visible reality of space and time, energy and matter. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... The astral plane, also called the astral world and astral universe, is a plane of existence according to various philosophies and belief systems. ...

Predecessors of the Concept

In India in the seventh century b.c.e., the Taittiriya Upanishad refered 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 individal 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. The Taittiriya Upanishad is one of the Upanishads associated to the taittiriya samhita of the Black Yajurveda. ... Manas is the name of: A Kyrgyz epic poem (see Manas (epic); A commune in Drôme département, in France (see Manas, Drôme) Level of consciousness in Yogacara Buddhism, the manas-vijnana A river in the state of Assam in India. ... The mind is the term most commonly used to describe the higher functions of the human brain, particularly those of which humans are subjectively conscious, such as personality, thought, reason, memory, intelligence and emotion. ... In philosophy, ontology (from the Greek όντος = part. ... Advaita Vedanta is probably the best known of all Vedanta schools of Hinduism, the others being Dvaita and Vishishtadvaita. ...

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 ot hypostasis, with higher ones like Life, Being, and Unity above it. Statue of a philosopher, presumably Plato, in Delphi. ... According to Platonic realism, universals exist in a realm (often so called) that is separate from space and time; one might say that universals have a sort of ghostly or heavenly mode of existence, but, at least in more modern versions of Platonism, such a description [[Media:is probably more... Middle Platonism refers to the development of certain philosophical doctrines associated with Plato during the first and second centuries A.D. One of the outstanding thinkers of Middle Platonism was Philo Judeaus (Philo the Jew) who synthesized Platos philosophy with Jewish scripture largely through allegorical interpretation of the latter. ... Philo (20 BCE - 40 CE) was an Hellenized Jewish philosopher born in Alexandria, Egypt. ... Neoplatonism (also Neo-Platonism) was a school of philosophy beginning in the 3rd century A.D. It was based on the teachings of Plato and Platonists; but it interpreted Plato in many new ways, such that Neoplatonism was quite different from what Plato taught, though not many Neoplatonists would admit... Plotinus Plotinus (ca. ... Proclus Lycaeus (February 8, 412 – April 17, 487), surnamed The Successor (Greek Πρόκλος ὁ Διάδοχος Próklos ho Diádokhos), was a Greek Neoplatonist philosopher. ...

Hermetic and Theosophical 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 Age movement. New Age describes a broad movement characterized by alternative approaches to traditional Western culture. ...

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. Samuel Liddel MacGregor Mathers, in Egyptian costume, performs a ritual of Isis in the rites of the Golden Dawn. ... Sephirah, also Sefirah (Hebrew language סְפִירָה Enumeration); plural Sephiroth or Sefiroth סְפִירוֹת. ... The Tree-of-Life is a fictional plant (the ancestor of yams, with similar appearance and taste) in Larry Nivens Known Space universe, for which all Hominids have an in-built genetic craving. ...

H. P. Blavatsky meanwhile (who was influenced by Mathers as she was by other occultists of the time) developed a cosmology and ontology consisting of seven principles and seven planes. In creating this metaphysic she combined Vedantic, Buddhist, Samkhyan, Tantric, Neoplatonic, Ancient Egyptian, Kabbalistic, and Occult themes. She refers here to the principle of Manas, and also to the kosmic Manasic plane. However this represents a very sublime level of consciousness. Helena Blavatsky Helena Petrovna Hahn (also Hélène) (July 31, 1831 (O.S.) (August 12, 1831 (N.S.)) - May 8, 1891 London, England), better known as Helena Blavatsky or Madame Blavatsky was the founder of Theosophy. ... The Septenary in H.P. Blavatskys teachings refers to the seven principles of man, In The Key to Theosophy, pp. ... A plane of existence (or plane or dimension) is in esoteric cosmology and metaphysics, a theoretical region of space and/or consciousness beyond the known universe, or the region containing the universe itself. ...

Around the turn of the twentieth century, Max Theon and his wife 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 whichg 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.

Some Current definitions of the Mental Plane

The influence of C.W. Leadbeater's work on the New Age movement has been underrated (see The Elder Brother by Gregory Tillet). One of Leadbeater's achievements was to make Blavatsky's difficult cosmology simpler and more understandable; for example by equating eacjh of the seven principles or vehicles of consciousness with a corresponding cosmic plane. So there is a physical body that is the microcosm of the physical plane, an etheric body as the individualisation of the etheric plane, an astral body which corresponds to the astral plane, a mental body which is the individualisation of the mental plane, and a causal body or vehicle of the soul, which is located at the level of the causal plane. C.W. Leadbeater (1847 or 1854-1934), English clergyman and Theosophical author, contributed to world thought mostly through his work as a clairvoyant. ... Macrocosm and microcosm is an ancient Greek schema of seeing the same patterns reproduced in all levels of reality. ... The Physical Plane or Physical Universe in Hermeticism, Theosophical and New Age thought refers to the visible reality of space and time, energy and matter. ... The Etheric Body is one of the Subtle Bodies in Theosophy and New Age thought. ... The Etheric Plane is one of the Planes of existence, or more specifically a subplane or planes, in Theosophy and New Age thought. ... An astral body is a form in which a person is believed to be able to travel out of their physical body. ... The astral plane, also called the astral world and astral universe, is a plane of existence according to various philosophies and belief systems. ... The Mental Body is one of the Subtle Bodies in Theosophy and New Age thought. ... The soul according to many religious and philosophical traditions, is the ethereal substance — spirit (Hebrew:rooah or nefesh) — particular to a unique living being. ...

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 succeeeded Blavatsky as head of the Theosophical society) can be found in Arthur E. Powell's The Mental Body. Alice A. Bailey (1880‑1949), writer and lecturer on neo-theosophy, was born in England in 1880 as Alice LaTrobe Bateman. ... Annie Besant activist, socialist and latterly theosophist Annie Wood Besant (October 1, 1847 - September 20, 1933) was a prominent Theosophist, womens rights activist, writer and orator. ...

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. Sri Aurobindo Sri Aurobindo (Bangla: শ্রী অরবিন্দ) (August 15, 1872–December 5, 1950) was an Indian nationalist, scholar, poet, Hindu mystic, evolutionary philosopher, yogi and guru. ... Mirra Alfassa (later Morisset and Richard), known as The Mother (February 21, 1878 - November 17, 1973), was the spiritual partner of the sage and seer Sri Aurobindo. ... The Physical faculty or part of the being, in Sri Aurobindos philosophy, refers not just to the physical body, but the bodys consciousness as well. ... The Vital or Life faculty or part of the being, in Sri Aurobindos philosophy, refers not simply to the life force as to the various passions, desires, feelings, emotions, affects, compulsions, and likes and dislikes that strongly determine human motivation and action through desire and enthusiasm. ... The Mental faculty or part of the being, in Sri Aurobindos philosophy, is the conceptual and cognitive mind. ... The Life Divine is Sri Aurobindos major philosophical opus. ... Letters on Yoga is a compilation of Sri Aurobindos letters on all areas of spiritual instruction. ...

References

• Sri Aurobindo, (1972), Letters on Yoga, Volumes 22, 23, and 24, 1972, Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust, Pondicherry
• Sri Aurobindo, (1977), The Life Divine, Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust, Pondicherry
• Alfassa, Mirra (The Mother) Mother's Agenda
• Besant, Annie, Man and His Bodies
• Blavatsky, H.P. The Secret Doctrine
• ----- The Key to Theosophy
• Dillon, J.M., The Middle Platonists (Ithaca: Cornell University Press 1977).
• Jyoti and Prem Sobel (1984) The Hierarchy of Minds, Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust, Pondicherry
• C. W. Leadbeater, Man, Visible and Invisible
• MacGregor Mathers, S.L., The Kabbalah Unveiled
• Powell, Arthur E. The Mental Body
• Radhakrishnan, The Principle Upanishads
• Rosan, Laurence J., The Philosophy of Proclus. The Final Phase of Ancient Thought, New York: Cosmos, 1949.
• Tillet, Gregory, The Elder Brother
• Wallis, R. T., (1972) Neoplatonism

Mothers Agenda - lAgenda - is a massive 13 volume, 6,000 page, journal of the the Mothers (born Mirra Alfassa) spiritual and physical experiences, recorded by Satprem over a period of 19 years, beginning with some fragments dating to 1951, and continuing in greater detail (especially with Satprem...

See Also

• Mental body
• Thoughtform