The doctrine of cycles

N. L. Vas

The doctrine of cycles gives us a scientific, philosophical and religious basis for a universal life’s philosophy. Why did Jesus say; “Turn the other cheek”? Mathew 5:38-41. I will come back to this a little later. We see a lot of discord around us and very few people speak of reconciliation. It seems that we have lost our way. If we don’t try to find out our spiritual inheritance, we will leave behind us a generation even more confused then we were. Hardly believing the stories in the Bible.

In this lecture I will try to show that mankind is part and parcel of the universe. That our thoughts and deeds come back to us in cyclic form. If we want to live in harmony with nature we must start using our common sense. I will also discuss with you the creation of the cosmos.

Cycles are so usual and natural. We cannot imagine how the world would be without day and night, sleep and awake rhythms and all the other cycles, too many to mention. The doctrine of cycles is the most important in theosophy, because it is on the basis of everything.

Where does the word cycle come from? Cycle comes from the Greek, kuklos (circle, ring or wheel). In Sanskrit there is a word very similar to it. The word is kalpa. A kalpa is an enormous long time period, 432,000,000. years or one day of Brahmâ. How do we describe such a period? The length of a kalpa is illustrated by the following simile: “Suppose hat every hundred years a piece of silk is rubbed once on a solid rock one cubic mile in size; when the rock is worn away by this, one kalpa will still not have passed.”

In ancient times men understood the law of cycles. They knew that they were a part of the cosmic plan of unity. Man learnt, “So above, so under”. Now-a-days we can fly to the moon, walk about there and fly back. We are so convinced of our knowledge and accomplishments that we think we can live without the teachings of the ancients.

Madame Blavatsky was the messenger of the Masters of wisdom and compassion. In 1875 the Theosophical Society was formed through her and others. She pointed out that there is an enormously ancient book called the Wisdom-Religion. This book is the work of generations of Adepts and the inheritance of humanity. It is written in symbolic language and is kept secret by the present Adepts. Her great work The Secret Doctrine is based on a few explanations from that book. The Secret Doctrine has three fundamental proposition.

1. There is an unnameable, unthinkable presence in everything and is everything. It is above human understanding. Man calls it, The Absolute, is everywhere and in everything.
2. The eternity of the Universe is the playground of infinite universe that come and disappear again. This coming and disappearing of universes happens with the regularity of cycles, like the ebb and flow of the seas.
3. The unity of everything. We are the same in our inner selves, deep in our hearts we are children or sparks of the Absolute.

The Cycles comes from the second proposition of the Secret Doctrine. The ancient Wisdom Tradition says that the world is an emanation, an out flowing from the Absolute and not a creation of God. It has always been there and shall always be there. It becomes visible, has a life, this disappears for a rest period. This coming and going never ends. When the Universe appears the Law of Karma begins. Karma is a Sanskrit word that means the Law of cause and effect. This is a universal law in nature.

What does this mean for mankind? Seeing that the world comes and goes, this it applies to man too, “So above, so below”. We are born, live here, then we die and after a period we come back in a new birth. The law of Karma, cause and effect, is nothing less then what is written in the Bible. “What we sow, we will reap.” When the time is right we will reap, in this life or in another life.

Evolution is a cyclic law. When we come back in new bodies, we evolve. We are given a new chance, which is wonderful. Every new day is miraculous. We are always being given a new chance. The human race has outgrown its infancy. We are very much responsible for our deeds. There is no entity that will come and save us and restore the harmony in Nature when we are not obedient to nature’s laws. There is also no vicarious atonement. As I said earlier, I will come back to Jesus. He was an Initiate. He knew exactly what he meant when he said, “turn the other cheek”. He was pointing to the law of Karma and cycles. He wisely advised, to avoid strife in our future lives. I don’t say that we should turn the other cheek, but try to walk the path of reconciliation. We when sow bad seeds we will reap bad results.

In our present society we see that mankind has lost his way. Everywhere there is disagreement and very few people speak of reconciliation. People keep talking of values and standards, and yet we see that man is become more radical. We would do better to listen to Jesus’ words and practice loving of neighbours.

It is time we start using our common sense. We are morally responsible for our thoughts and deeds. If we expect a better future, then we have to start sowing the seeds now. Coincidence plays no part here. Our present situation is the result of our past lives. And our future depends on what we do now.

It appears as though we are spiritually growing. We get nostalgic, and say the before everything was better and lovelier. We don’t even see the wonder of every new day. We live now! We have the power over our present thoughts and deeds. Clinging to the past holds us back, and we then don’t enjoy each new day. Our knowledge is limited. A road worker still uses Pythagoras theorem to lay out a right angel. We need the wisdom religion to live morally responsible lives.

The cycles of earthquakes, and other natural disasters are now actual, but they have been there before. Sicknesses such as AIDS en other contagious viruses are a dangerous threat. But nature is compassionate. We are always getting a new chance to improve. When a farmer ploughs a patch of land too long, after a while the land doesn’t produce much. It needs rest. This applies to the waters of the ocean too. They need a rest after so many thousands of years. A good example is rainwater. It falls to the earth, then is used by the plants and trees, evaporates and forms clouds. Later it falls back to the earth as rain or snow. This continues until it is no more fruitful. When the water needs a rest, we go through an Ice age. Then the cycles begin again.

The Sun is the heart of our solar system. We all remember the picture of the atom. This is an example of the saying, “So above, so below”. It picture of our solar system is not much different. We now know that the sun spots return in a cycle of every 11 years. We can look at this as the heartbeat of the sun. We can compare it to our own heart, our heartbeat is also a cycle.

Our heartbeat works in a cycle of 4320 times per hour. We breath in and out 25,920.00 times every 24 hours. The sun has a cycle of 25,920.00 years to go round the zodiac. There is a key number 4 3 2. We also see this number in the Pythagorean Tetraktys, (see fig). Here we see the form 4 3 2, from below. There is constantly the same figure that comes back in a cyclic form.

Cycles should interest all intelligent people. They are the workings of nature itself. They are not imposed upon from outside the universe. They are the true expression from the internal, invisible Divine force. The universe and its evolutionary changes are eternal. The human body copies Nature, it cannot do otherwise. The celestial bodies also follow nature, they cannot do otherwise. It is impossible for them to do otherwise. The chain of nature and the chain of destiny cannot be broken. Everything that is, is cyclic. There is one fundamental law, one cosmic plan. Cycles are repetition of the Divine plan. We call it the doctrine of the cycles, they are not new.

They seem new to us because modern science and the modern religions teach systems that are against natures laws. We are products of nature and have to obey its laws. “The circle was, with every nation, the symbol of the Unknown – ‘Boundless Space’ – the abstract part of an ever-present abstraction – the Incognizable Deity. . . no better definition could be given of the natural symbol and the evident nature of Deity, which having its circumference everywhere (the Boundless) has, therefore, its central point also everywhere, in other words is in every point of the Universe.” The Secret Doctrine., vol I., p. 113.

Here I will try to give an abstract idea of the birth of a universe. First the appears a point out of nothing, (see fig), just like clouds appear in the blue sky. This point comes from the Absolute. The Absolute is beyond human understanding. From this point comes the next, see fig.

The fig shows the start of life. This is where karma starts. There is a cause and from here there will be an effect in cyclic form. Light appears out of this point. This means that matter and consciousness become active. Spirit and matter, they are plus and minus poles. These aspects of the Absolute develop separately, but with each other. A good example of this is our blood circulation. Clean blood is pumped out of the heart, and processed blood comes back to the heart. And not the other way around.

A constant cycle of circulation. From this point different Milky Ways and solar systems are formed. Man is now able to make a map of part of the universe, see fig. This coming and going of universes takes place with the regularity of ebb and flow. The destiny of humanity is tied up to the movements of the celestial bodies. An example of this is our bodies are nourished by the life force of the sun. We need the sun for our wellbeing. We are children of the Spiritual Sun. Our legacy is to become Gods in the distant future. We have an infinite past and we have an infinite future. We cannot really die. What I mean is, only our physical bodies give up the ghost and have a rest. There is no death for the soul. Everything is in constant forward movement, we cannot go back. We can grow and develop.

The human stage is a transitory time. We will not always be humans. But the cycle of human life is not complete until man has passed the earth life. Man has been taught from ancient times that he is part and parcel of all natural processes. He is an inseparable part of the universe. It is this knowledge “of things as they are” that frees man from the fear of death.

In theosophy we have the four sacred seasons. The winter and summer solstices and the autumn and spring equinoxes. At these four seasonal periods initiations take place on earth. These initiations take place when the candidate has overcome his desires and is ready to discover his higher self.

I have tried to show that man is a spark of the Absolute. And that our thoughts and deeds return to us in the cyclic form of sowing and reaping. If we want to live in peace and happiness we must use our common sense. We must obey the moral and spiritual laws.

In conclusion here is a small incident. The master asked his pupil, “Lift thy head up, do you see one or countless lights above thee, burning in the midnight sky?”
“I sense one Flame, o master, I see countless undetached sparks shining in it.”
“You answer well. And now look around and into thyself. That light which burns inside thee, does it feel different from the light that shines in thy Brother-man?”
“It is in no way different, though the prisoner is held in bondage by Karma, and though its outer garments delude the ignorant into saying, Thy Soul and My Soul.”

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