Transactions of the Blavatsky Lodge of the Theosophical Society. Discussions on the stanzas of the first volume of The secret doctrine

Answer: There is a very great philosophical difference. As higher Devas (gods), the Buddhists call them Bodhisattvas. Publicly, they are five in number, whereas in the secret schools they are seven; they are not single entities but hierarchies. It is stated in the Secret Doctrine that five Buddhas have come already and that two more are to come in the sixth and seventh Root-Races. Publicly, their leader is Vajrasattva, the "Supreme Intelligence" or "Supreme Buddha," but even more transcendent is Vajradhara, just as Parabrahm (the Absolute) transcends Brahma or Mahat (Universal Mind). Thus, the public and the occult meanings of the Dhyani-Buddhas are entirely different.

Publicly, each is a trinity—three in one—with all three manifesting simultaneously in three worlds: as a human Buddha on earth, a Dhyani-Buddha in the world of astral forms, and an arupa (formless) Buddha in the highest realm of Nirvana. For a human Buddha, who is an incarnation of one of these Dhyanis, the stay on earth is limited to between seven and seven thousand years in various bodies, since as men they are subject to normal conditions, accidents, and death.

In Esoteric philosophy, on the other hand, this means that only five out of the "Seven Dhyani-Buddhas"—or rather, the Seven Hierarchies of these Dhyanis, who in Buddhist mysticism are identical with the higher incarnating Intelligences or the Kumaras of the Hindus—have appeared on earth so far in a regular succession of incarnations. The last two are to come during the sixth and seventh Root-Races. This is, again, semi-allegorical, if not entirely so. For the sixth and seventh Hierarchies have already incarnated on this earth along with the rest. But because they reached "Buddhahip" (enlightenment) almost from the beginning of the fourth Root-Race, they are said to have rested since then in conscious bliss and freedom until the beginning of the Seventh Round, when they will lead Humanity as a new race of Buddhas. These Dhyanis are connected only with Humanity and, strictly speaking, only with the highest "principles" of men.

Question: Do the Dhyani-Buddhas and the Planetary Spirits in charge of the globes go into pralaya (dissolution) when their planets enter that state?

Answer: Only at the end of the seventh Round, and not between each round, for they must watch over the working of the laws during these minor pralayas. Fuller details on this subject have already been written in the third volume of the Secret Doctrine. However, all these differences in fact are merely functional, for they are all aspects of one and the same Essence.

Question: Does the hierarchy of Dhyanis, whose duty it is to watch over a Round, watch over the whole series of globes during its period of activity, or only over a particular globe?

Answer: There are incarnating Dhyanis and there are watching Dhyanis. You have just been told about the functions of the former; the latter appear to do their work in this way: Every class or hierarchy corresponds to one of the Rounds. The first and lowest hierarchy corresponds to the first and less developed Round, the second to the second, and so on until the seventh Round is reached, which is under the supervision of the highest Hierarchy of the Seven Dhyanis. At the last Round, they will appear on earth, as will some of the Planetary Spirits, for all of humanity will have become Bodhisattvas—their own "sons," meaning the "Sons" of their own Spirit and Essence, or themselves.

Thus, there is only a functional difference between the Dhyanis and the Planetary Spirits. The former are entirely divine, while the latter are sidereal (related to the stars and the physical cosmos). Only the former are called Anupadaka (parentless) because they radiated directly from that which is neither Father nor Mother but the unmanifested Logos. They are, in fact, the spiritual aspect of the seven Logoi. The Planetary Spirits, in their totality, are like the seven Sephiroth—the three higher being super-cosmic abstractions and "blinds" (veils) in the Kabbalah—and constitute the Heavenly Man, or Adam Kadmon. Dhyani is a generic name in Buddhism, an abbreviation for all the gods. Yet it must always be remembered that although they are "gods," they are still not to be worshipped.

Question: Why not, if they are gods?

Answer: Because Eastern philosophy rejects the idea of a personal god that exists outside the cosmos. To those who call this atheism, I would say the following: It is illogical to worship one such god, for, as said in the Bible, "There are many lords and many gods." original: "There be Lords many and Gods many." Reference to 1 Corinthians 8:5. Therefore, if worship is desirable, we must choose either the worship of many gods—each being no better or less limited than the others (which is polytheism and idolatry)—or choose, as the Israelites did, one tribal or racial god from among them. In the latter case, while believing in the existence of many gods, one ignores and shows contempt for the others, regarding their own as the highest and the "God of Gods."

But this is logically unjustifiable, for such a god can be neither infinite nor absolute; he must be finite—that is to say, limited and conditioned by space and time. With the Pralaya (universal dissolution), the tribal god disappears, and Brahma and all the other Devas and gods are merged into the Absolute. Therefore, occultists do not worship or offer prayers to them. If we did, we would have to either worship many gods or pray to the Absolute, which, having no attributes, can have no ears to hear us. Even a worshipper of many gods must of necessity be unjust to all the other gods.